The Amateur Trainer
by Bad Luck Novelist
Summary: Presently last part of The Lunar Series, sequel to A Misty Marriage Problem. After the wedding, Ash and May lock up the house and go to Hoenn so May could try to be a pokemon trainer. What happens when choas ensues?
1. Default Chapter

- 1 -  
  
The waves beat against the side of the Dragonship Destiny, as it slipped smoothly along the sea. Leaning against the railing, Ash Ketchum looked out at the horizon, holding the wireless phone to his ear. "Yes, Professor Birch. We're nearly there." he said, "It'll be an hour or so before we get to Littleroot. The phone is starting to go out. We'll see you then."  
  
Ash turned the phone off, and went down into the ship to put it away, followed by the very hyper Amber. "Hi, Ash!"  
  
Jean smiled at him. "Hi, Jean. Where is everyone?" Ash asked, setting the phone on a small corner table.  
  
"Everyone is in the dinning room. I think May is in her room though."  
  
"Thanks." Ash knocked on the door gently, before entering, "Whatcha doing?"  
  
"I'm trying to find where the Starter Pokemon are at." May looked up at him, frowning. Ash sat down next to her, glancing at the page. A picture of a Trapinch was on the page. He sighed. Amber peered up at him, her mouth slightly open.  
  
"May, you are way too far into the book for the Starter Pokemon. They are back here..." Ash flipped the book back to page 5, where there was three pokemon-Treecko, Torchic, and Mudkip. The evolutions of the three were next to them on the page.  
  
"Is...Grovyle...a Starter?" May asked, pointing at the Gecko-like pokemon picture. Ash laughed slightly, smiling.  
  
"No, no...Treecko is, then he evolves into Grovyle," he said. May looked at Ash, frowning.  
  
"I haven't even gotten my license yet, and I'm already failing as a trainer." Millenia choose at that time to release herself from her pokeball, sitting at the end of the bed. "I'll never be able to be a decent trainer to any pokemon."  
  
"You'll do fine. You think you're doing bad? I starting my Pokemon Training by sleeping in the day I was suppose to get my Starter, then I ended up getting attacked by a pack of Spearow because I threw a rock at one." Ash smiled warmly at her. "I'll be with you the whole way."  
  
"Thanks, Ash,"  
  
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"In this pokeball is torchic, treecko is in the second, and mudkip in the third," Professor Birch said, pointing out the three pokeballs. May looked at Ash, who was leaning against the wall and watching them quietly. He nodded toward the poster of the three starters and their evolutions.  
  
"Grovyle evolves from treecko...I want a treecko," she said. Birch took the pokeball holding the Grass-type pokemon, and gave it to May. She let Treecko out, as a kid walked in.  
  
"Hello, Mr. Ketchum," the boy said, looking at Ash.  
  
"Hello, Brendan. How is you mudkip doing?" he asked, smiling. Brendan smiled.  
  
"He evolved into swampert last week." Brendan looked at May, who was hugging her new treecko excitedly. Ash frowned at her.  
  
"May, unless you want to kill treecko, loosen up." Ash said, "Professor Birch, are there the same Gym Leaders as before, or no?"  
  
"They are the same," Birch said, "Their pokemon might be a bit stronger then when you fought them, but pretty much they have the same teams and everything."  
  
"Thanks. We should try to get to the first town before night time, May. We'll need to get some stuff there soon too..."  
  
"Will I be able to catch any pokemon?" May asked. Ash smiled, pushing himself off the wall.  
  
"Sure can...May?" Ash looked around. May had disappeared. Brendan and Birch were near laughing.  
  
"The minute the word 'sure' came out of your mouth, she ran out. Ain't excited, is she?" Brendan laughed. Ash sighed, and shook his head.  
  
"I better go catch up. May has no clue on how to battle with a pokemon."  
  
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"May...MAY!" Ash looked around, searching around outside of Littleroot for May. Any trainer he asked said the same thing; they hadn't seen her. "That wasn't a good time to run off..."  
  
"Treecko...um, attack it?"  
  
Ash peeked around a tree, and saw May looked down at treecko uncertainly. A zigzagoon was standing in front of treecko, waiting to attack. "Try Pound," he said.  
  
She turned and looked at him. "Pound?"  
  
Treecko jumped at the zizagoon, hitting it full on. Squealing, zizagoon fell a few feet away, before tackling treecko. "Treeee!" treecko yelled, smashing into the zizagoon.  
  
"Ziiiiizaaaaa," the weakened pokemon wimpered. May looked at Ash, who smiled and took out a red and white pokeball.  
  
"Catch." He tossed it to her. May looked at it, before giving Ash a strange look. "Throw it at the zizagoon."  
  
"Oh...right!" She tossed the pokeball. Zizagoon was sucked into the orb, as it wobbled on the ground wildly. With a click, the pokeball went still. "Did I catch it?"  
  
"I'd say you did, by the fact that zizagoon didn't escape form the pokeball." May picked up the now still pokeball. Ash dug in his jacket's pockets for another pokeball, but found none. "I'm out. You'll have to wait until we get to Oldale Town to catch more pokemon."  
  
"Chaa." Amber had walked over to treecko, and started what looked like a conversation. Ash walked away from the tree, smiling.  
  
"Shall we continue onto Oldale?" he asked. May smiled.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
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This was chapter one! It might take longer then I thought because A)I'm on semi-writers block and B) I have the sequel to Shadow League to do also. XD 


	2. Late Morning Start

- 2-  
  
"So you need ten pokeballs and twenty potions?" the shopkeeper asked. Ash nodded. "That'll be $700."  
  
Handing him the money, Ash took the items and set them on the counter. He put the pokeballs in his pocket, and took the potions and put them in his backpack.  
  
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"Did you get everything needed?" May asked, as he sat down quietly next to her.  
  
"Yes. I got enough pokeballs and potions to last until we get to Rustboro City. Now, I just want to go to sleep!" Ash said, peeling his jacket off.  
  
"Will I be able to get the first badge tomorrow?" May questioned, curling up next to him. Ash nodded.  
  
"Yes," he replied, sliding down so that he could lie down.  
  
"Pika!" Amber jumped up onto the bed, along with Millenia and Ryudo. Ash looked slightly irritated at them, but didn't say anything. "Pikapi, chu!"  
  
"May, you aren't helping." She laughed, watching Ash push the three baby pokemon off him, all of which got right back on. "AAAAARG! Get off me! And would you stop laughing at me!"  
  
Amber hid under his pillow, peeking up at Ash. Millenia looked like she hadn't even noticed his outburst, and stayed where she was. Ryudo sat at the end of the bed. May giggled, irritating Ash even more.  
  
"Come here, you!" He tackled her, catching May off-guard. "This'll teach you to laugh at me!"  
  
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"Come on, come on! What are they doing?" Cassidy asked impatiently, as Butch looked though the binoculars into the other window.  
  
"I can't tell...they just went out of sight," Butch said, frowning, "They have a Moltres?!"  
  
"A Moltres? We have got to get that!" she yelled. Butch nodded.  
  
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The sun had long rose. Amber, Millenia, Ryudo, and Treecko all were down on the floor, playing a game quietly, waiting for Ash and May to wake up. "Hmm, Ash, you up?" May asked, barely forcing her eyes open.  
  
"'Mup..."  
  
"What time is it?..." she asked. Ash looked at his wristwatch sleepily, blinking to focus his vision.  
  
"11 o'clock," he said, thinking of going back to sleep. May sat up, holding the blanket.  
  
"11?! Ash, you said you wanted to leave for Rustboro by 6!" May said. His eyes snapped open.  
  
"Ah man! I did, didn't I?! Geez, we have got to go!" Ash fell out of the bed (literally), and, after getting readjusted, started the task of getting dressed.  
  
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The noon sun shown bright in the sky. Ash and May walked along the path leading to the forest to Rustboro. Just as they were about to enter the trees, a voice called out, "Stop right there!"  
  
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This is chapter two! Turned out kinda short though. -_- oh well. Onto the reviews:  
  
DJ-you wanna bet? Seems like they are doing worst... 


	3. Team Rocket and Magma

- 3 -  
  
Ash sighed, as two rockets and a Meowth jumped out at them. "Prepare for trouble!" the woman yelled.  
  
"And make that double!" the man yelled.  
  
"Jessie and James," Ash breathed, rolling his eyes, "They've recited their motto so many times that I know it by heart."  
  
"To protect the world from devastation."  
  
"To unite all peoples within our nation."  
  
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."  
  
"To extend our reach to the stars above."  
  
"Jessie!"  
  
"James!"  
  
"Team Rocket Blast off at the speed of light."  
  
"Surrender to us now or prepare to fight."  
  
"Meowth! Dat's right!" Meowth had jumped forward, in front of Jessie and James.  
  
"Hand over Pikachu, twerp!" Jessie said. May looked at Ash questioningly. His expression had changed from boredom to anger within seconds.  
  
"Pikachu is dead, you morons. Don't either of you know anything?" Ash snapped coldly, glaring at them. Jessie and James were silent, staring in shock at him. No matter how many times they bugged him, Ash had never taken such a tone of voice when speaking to them. James and Meowth seemed to have known not to mess around, unlike Jessie.  
  
"Then what is that? A Raichu?" Jessie asked, looking at Amber, who had perched herself on Ash's head. He looked at the small mouse pokemon, who was glaring at Jessie.  
  
"I think all that hairspray you've been using has affected your brain! This is Amber-a DIFFERENT pikachu."  
  
"Yeah right. I bet that you are just saying that to protect your pokemon. Now hand Pikachu over!" Ash clenched his fist, shaking.  
  
"Would you get over it? I don't have Pikachu!"  
  
"But you have a Moltres." Two more people jumped out of the trees.  
  
"Oh, great. Two more idiots," Ash said, rolling his eyes. Butch and Cassidy landed beside Meowth and James. "What do you two want?"  
  
"We want your Moltres!" Cassidy reply. He looked at her questioningly.  
  
"My Moltres? I don't have a Moltres!" he said calmly, causing Jessie and James to look at each other in shock.  
  
"Yes, you do! We saw it last night!" Butch sneered. That caught Ash's attention immediantly. He looked at him, frowning.  
  
"Really now? And how was that?" Cassidy elbowed him, glaring. Butch was caught between answering and having the wrath of Cassidy brought down on him.  
  
"They were watching you," Jessie answered instead, blowing softly on her nails. They looked at her. Silence covered the area, before an explosion went off right where, Jessie, James, and Meowth were.  
  
"LOOKS LIKE TEAM ROCKET IS BLASTING OFF AGAAAAAAIIIIIIIN!!!!!" they yelled, as they went flying through the air. Another explosion caused Butch and Cassidy to make a sudden exit, in the same fashion as Jessie and James had.  
  
"What was that?" Ash asked, gently pushing May off. She had practically been attached to him. The dust and dirt settled around, as two forms were revealed. "Not again...its Team Magma. Lovely."  
  
"You are on our territory!" one of them said. Ash looked irritated, but didn't say anything. He had stuck his hands into his pockets, frowning at the two strangers.  
  
"And you think I care?" He suddenly whipped out a red and white pokeball, tossing it. Within seconds a large redish-orange dragon stood before him.  
  
"Chaaaar!" Charizard growled.  
  
"Fire Spin!" Ash ordered. Charizard opened his mouth wide, letting loose a blast of flame. While Charizard continued to use Fire Spin, Ash quickly looked around for a way to go. He spotter another path into the forest. "This way!..."  
  
Ash grabbed May's wrist, and ran toward the entrance. Charizard stopped the attack, and followed. Team Magma followed, sprinting to catch up. "Amber use your thunderbolt attack!"  
  
"Piiikaaaachuuuuu!" Amber squealed, electricity shooting out. Team Magma stopped to keep from being hit by Amber's attack. "Cha!"  
  
When it was obvious that they had given up on chasing after them, Ash dropped down under a tree. May sat down next to him, Amber crawling onto her lap. "Well, being attacked by three sets of people isn't too bad..." she said.  
  
Ash had hunched over, holding his face in his hands. "I have yet to figure out why I bother. Ever since I had my first pokemon, I've been having to fight against one team or another."  
  
He sat back, staring up at the leaves. "If we start on right now, we might be able to get to the pokemon center by nightfall," he added, standing up.  
  
"Let's go then," May replied, picking up Amber, who had wanted to run off. Amber gave a disappointed sigh, as they picked their way through the forest.  
  
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Sadly, this is where I have to end it. XD I am having serious trouble thinking of ideas(erlack, this sucks) and I still have the other sequel I'm doing also. I hope you all enjoyed this fanfiction, and thank you to all who reviewed. I MIGHT do a short story that's the sequel to this-but no promises on that. 


	4. Spinerak

- 4 -  
  
Ash led the way through the forest, listening for the sound of any other trainers around. Amber was sitting on his head, peeking around at all of the trees and bushes. Ryudo was walking along beside him, every once in a while falling behind and running to catch up. Millenia, who was still no bigger then a Raichu, was perched silently on May's shoulder, swaying gently as she walked.  
  
Throwing an arm out, stopping May, Ash stared around, frowning. A slight buzzing was coming from all around them. "Quiet," he whispered, slowly slipping a hand into his pocket to withdraw one of his pokemon.  
  
Many bug pokemon seemed to appear out of nowhere, surrounding them- Caterpie, Weedle, Spinerak, Beedrill, Beautifly, and Butterfree. Ash grinned, the sight of so many pokemon exciting. He looked at May, who was staring from one group of pokemon to another. She seemed just as excited, if not more so.  
  
"How many pokeballs did you buy?" she asked. Ash had to think a minute, before he could reply.  
  
"Ten..." he said, eyeing the few pokemon that were advancing on them.  
  
"I'm going to catch one of those!" May said, pointing out one of the Spinerak. Millenia suddenly perked up, stretching her wings and squawking. He smiled, and nodded. She was acting the same way as he had as a beginner trainer... "Millenia?"  
  
The baby fire bird glided down to the ground, and landed quietly. May looked at Millinia, trying to remember what attacks she could use. She gave Ash a warning look when he was about to suggest one, shutting him up automatically. "Millenia, use Ember."  
  
Millenia opened her beak, and shot out a bust of flame. The Spinerak it was aimed at dodged out of the way, the flame hitting the ground where it had stood. Spinerak made a web, catching Millenia. The flames on Millenia's wings grew, and burned the web.  
  
Spinerak darted at Millenia to use Poison Sting. "Fly!" May said, as Millenia spread her wings and took to the air. Spinerak shot some threading out to stick to the firebird, but Millenia dodged it and flew down, and hit the spinerak, causing it to go flying.  
  
Knocked out, the spinerak sat by a tree, swirls in its eyes. Millenia looked pleased, having just won her first battle. Ash took out one of the ten pokeballs, giving it to May. She tossed it at the spider pokemon. Spinerak got pulled into the ball. It closed around it, and started wiggling, as spinerak tried to get out.  
  
Several seconds went by, as the pokeball shook and wiggled, holding fast as the pokemon tried to get out. Most of the other pokemon had decided not to stick around and get caught also. The pokeball made a soft click, as it went still.  
  
Amber was the first to react, as she jumped down, and went to retrieve the orb. May nearly knocked Ash over, when she hugged him. He smiled. "I caught a pokemon without your help," she said into his shirt.  
  
"See? You are doing better already!" Ash said something under his breath, turning a soft pink color.  
  
"What was that?"  
  
"I would've just thrown the pokeball at it without weakening it at your level." May had to press her face into his shoulder to keep from laughing. "Its *so* embarrassing."  
  
Millenia glided over, letting out a soft tune. May went and hugged her baby pokemon, Millenia trying to get her wings out. "May, I don't think Millenia is liking that," Ash suggested.  
  
She let go of the firebird. Millenia flew up into the sky, and glided back down. "If we left now, would we get to Rustboro?" she asked.  
  
"We'd be there in about an hour or so," he replied, looking at his wristwatch.  
  
"Let's go then. I want to get my first badge!" May said, grabbing his wrist and scooping Amber up. Laughing, Ash ran to stay caught up.  
  
Meanwhile, five people that had been hiding in the bushes followed silently, staying just out of sight. "He is the one, that boy there. We must capture him, and convince him to work for us!" one of them said.  
  
Another of them, a female, frowned. "Him? Why him? How do we even know we have the right kid in our sight?" she asked.  
  
"Because our boss said so, that's why! Our boss has wanted him ever since he began his training here! Now, let's keep following them," another of them snapped. They fell silent.  
  
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This is chapter 4! DJ had most of the ideas for this chapter, so it goes to him! Um...next chapter, they get to Rustboro!  
  
Reviews:  
  
DJ Rodriguez-Why not? It'd be fun having a co-author!  
  
hiya!- yes, this is going to be continued. 


	5. Rustboro

- 5 -  
  
The embers glowed brightly, the fire having gone out. It was a clear night, the stars twinkling in the dark sky. The only person awake was Ash, who was staring at the sleeping pokemon that surrounded him and May. He looked at May, who was comfortably using him as a pillow.  
  
Amber, half-asleep, crawled into the sleeping bag with them. Ash moved slightly so he wouldn't squash the baby pokemon, who was just starting to drift off again. He scratched Amber's head, the baby moving to get closer to him.  
  
He thought about the pokemon teams the both of them had. Ash had Cascoon, Zizagoon, Charizard (from when he had been training years ago), Amber, and Ryudo. May had Millenia, Silcoon, Spinerak, Zizagoon, Poochyena (named Elena), and Amber. Deciding that sleep would be best, Ash turned onto his side, forcing May to also change position. Yawning, he fell to sleep.  
  
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"Your pokemon will be ready in twenty minutes!" Nurse Joy said, taking the pokemon from Ash and May. They had gotten to the Pokemon Center in Rustboro.  
  
"How about we go get breakfast? We haven't had a decent meal in days," Ash suggested, pushing the door out of the Center open. May slid past, nodding.  
  
"Why not?" They walked along the street, looking for a place to eat. Finally finding a good restaurant, they went in and sat down. After ordering, Ash opened up the book about Hoenn, and skimmed through it.  
  
When their order arrived, Ash picked the book up off the table and set it on his lap, reading more of it between bites. "What does this city have?" May asked, picking at her bacon.  
  
Ash looked up at her from the book. "Um, well, there's the gym, obviously. Then there's the Devon Corporation," he said.  
  
"What's that?"  
  
He shoved the book into his backpack, before answering. "It's a company that produces most of Hoenn's useful items."  
  
"...oh." Ash looked at his watch suddenly.  
  
"Do you want to go pick up the kids?"  
  
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Amber jumped up into Ash's shoulders. He took the pokeballs holding their pokemon from Nurse Joy. "I'm surprised you have a Larvitar and baby Moltres. They are such rare pokemon..." Joy admitted.  
  
Almost everyone in the center stopped what they were doing and looked at them. Ash laughed nervously, thanked Nurse Joy, grabbed May's wrist, and quickly walked out. He nearly dragged her a block when he finally stopped. "What is WRONG with you, Ash!? Was it necessary to try to kill me?" May asked.  
  
"It is not a good idea to stick around when I whole building full of people know that you have two, let alone one, rare pokemon with you. Why she had to say that out loud..." Ash said, "Should we go onto the gym?"  
  
"Well, that's an idea. Why not?"  
  
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"What's this building?" May asked, grabbing Ash's arm to stop him. He looked up at the building in question.  
  
"Oh, that's the Trainer's School. They teach them how to be good trainers so they can be pokemon masters..." Ash rolled his eyes "...they had a fit when I became Pokemon Master and one of THEIR students didn't. And they said anyone who doesn't get trainers schooling is unfit for the role..."  
  
The doors of the school bust open, a small girl running out, chasing a pokemon. When she caught sight of Ash and May, she stopped, staring curiously at them. Suddenly, she squealed in delight. "It's him...it's him!! Its Ash Ketchum!" she yelled.  
  
There was the sound of the doors swinging open again, as the girl's classmates ran out. The girl was jumping up and down, obviously excited, staring avidly at Ash, along with the rest of the children. "I guess I'm well known throughout Hoenn as well..." he said, laughing nervously.  
  
"I was wondering what the ruckus out here was!" one of the teachers had walked outside. She had dirty blonde hair with green streaks pulled up into a messy ponytail, and bright silver gray eyes. "What are all of you doing out here? You should be in class!"  
  
The children went quiet, and looked at her. "Miss Yoshi!" they cried, running to her, "The pokemon master! The pokemon master is here!"  
  
"Really now? Which one?" Miss Yoshi asked. They squealed in excitement.  
  
"Ash Ketchum!" one of them said. She let the children lead her over, looking slightly disconcerted.  
  
"Are you really Ash Ketchum, the legendary Pokemon Master?" she asked almost instantly, pushing the children back gently. She looked him up and down. May bit her tongue to keep from saying anything. Anger was bubbling up inside of her; that teacher was obviously checking him out, and wasn't even trying to be subtle about it!  
  
"Er, yeah, that's me," Ash said. He seemed slightly startled, before his expression turning neutral. He pulled May up, keeping a tight grip on her arm. "And this is my beautiful wife, May."  
  
The smile on Miss Yoshi's face disappeared. May had to bite her lip to keep from saying anything. "Well, it is nice to finally meet you, Mr. Ketchum," she said.  
  
Ash rolled his eyes. "Please, just call me Ash?" he asked.  
  
"Alright, Ash. How would you and May like to be our special guest? I'm sure the children would love you." He looked around quietly, before turning to May. She nodded quickly, seeing instantly that Ash was dying to agree.  
  
"We can go to the Gym later," she said. With that, they were lead into the building, the children twittering behind them.  
  
Meanwhile, the strangers that persisted to follow Ash were watching from behind another building. "Tell me again, why do we have to capture that guy? Even though he is kinda cute..." the female voice asked.  
  
Her partner sighed, and looked at her. "Because, he is Ash Ketchum! He is the legendary Chosen One!" he said.  
  
"So?" she retorted. He growled.  
  
"You don't get it, do you? He has met nearly all of the legendary Pokemon! He is personal friends with Moltres, Articuno, Zapdos, Mew, Mewtwo, Entei, the Unown, Suicune, and Lugia!" That caught her attention.  
  
"I see..."  
  
"If we capture him, and make him one of us, he can help us harness the legendary Pokemon, Suicune and Lugia, powers and raise the sea level around the world! Just like we planned!" he said. The woman nodded.  
  
"What about the witch with him?" she asked. He snorted.  
  
"What about her?" She knew what he said, and smiled evilly. "Come on. Let's get to work. Before our rivals try to get to him before us"  
  
When she agreed, they disappeared. Right before, the clouds had moved and uncovered the sun, revealing the two for who they where: members of Team Aqua!  
  
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This is the newest chapter! I am soooo sorry it took so long to write! It seems like everything was getting in the way! Anyway, I am going to get to reviews, so I can update my other fanfiction too!  
  
DJ-Hiya! I like that you enjoy this! ^.^  
  
Hiya!-Yup, I'm continuing!!! 


	6. Team Aqua Attacks

- 6 -  
  
May looked at the crowd of students, all of which were sitting and waiting anxiously. The front row was the teachers, a few of which were talking. She glared at Miss Yoshi, who was still checking out the smiling young man. It was really annoying her, that that teacher was looking at her husband with such a look of desire. 'She's got some nerve! Especially since Ash told her that we are married!' she thought angrily, biting her lip.  
  
She looked at Ash, who, luckily, wasn't paying an ounce of attention to Miss Yoshi. He was more occupied with watching the children that were twittering away. Ash gave her a little smile, before going back to watching the kids. May knew he would *never* betray her, but it didn't stop her from not liking the way he was getting looked at.  
  
"As I know you are getting anxious, so I now introduce...Ash Ketchum! He will be talking to you all today about what it takes to be a master!" the principle announced. Ash pushed himself up to standing, and walked over to the podium, smiling in embarrassment.  
  
Ash did a quick scan over everyone. Almost every child had admiring looks, eyes wide and waiting. He looked at May, who was still glaring at Miss Yoshi. Sighing, he began talking.  
  
The principle interrupted about an hour later. "Do any of you have any questions?" he asked.  
  
About half the student body raised their hands. Ash went pale, staring around at all the different children. He pointed out one of the older students, around 14 or 15. She cleared her throat, before asking, "Why are you so hot?"  
  
The teachers turned and looked to see who had asked. Ash felt himself blush. "Well...ah, I don't control that-"  
  
Suddenly, a loud explosion went off, as smoke and dust filled the room. Most of the smaller children where screaming, the teens trying to not breath in any of the mess. Ash, coughing, managed to find his way over to Amber (who automatically started clinging to him) and May. She had sometime during the speech taken his jacket out, and pulled it on. Now, she was using the sleeve to cover her mouth and nose.  
  
"Are you alright!" he asked, trying unsuccessfully to not inhale any of the dust. He choked on it, stopping only when May hit him on the back to help. Ash kept a tight hold on her, as the air cleared.  
  
Now all of the students where screaming, and the adults where staring around in shock. The roof and ceiling had a giant hole in it, and along the rim stood two people, one man and one woman.  
  
They were dressed in outfits very much like Team Rockets, except they were blue and white, and both of them had bandanas around their heads. Ash stared up at them, before shaking off the shock. "Who are you?!" he demanded.  
  
"We are of Team Aqua!" they both said, smiling.  
  
"I am Mauve," the woman said. She had long violet hair, her eyes a dark purple that matched.  
  
"And I am Vincent," the man said. He had greenish hair, and blue eyes. He looked at Mauve, before looking back at Ash, who was frowning.  
  
"You are not going to get any of our Pokemon!" Ash said. The two started laughing, using each other for support. Ash looked at them in puzzlement, confused as to why they would laugh at that.  
  
"We are not here for pokemon, kid!" Vincent sneered. Mauve smiled nastily.  
  
"We are here for you!" she said. Ash looked up at them, confused to no end. Team Rocket and Team Magma had only tried to get his pokemon before, but Team Aqua wanted *him*?  
  
Mauve and Vincent both jumped down from the roof, and landed perfectly in front of Ash and May. She tightened her grip on Ash's shirt, bewildered at hearing such a thing. The first thing on her mind, was why they would want him, and why go to so much trouble?  
  
Her blood heated to nearly boiling point, when she noticed Mauve doing exactly as Miss Yoshi had been doing-she was checking him out! May was getting really ticked that other women where looking at HER husband, even though she would be standing next to him.  
  
"We know a lot about you, Ash Ketchum." Vincent said, "You will make a good addition to Team Aqua!"  
  
"Why do you want *me*?" Ash asked. Vincent tapped his foot impatiently.  
  
"Because you, punk, have personal connections with nearly every legendary pokemon in the world! Don't try to cover it up, because we also know that you are the legendary Chosen One as well!" he said. Everyone in the room had gone quiet, as Vincent's voice rang through the room. They were all surprised and shocked at what they had heard.  
  
"With you on our side, we would fulfil our goal in raising the water level in the world! We could cover the entire Earth in water, making it more hospitable for water pokemon!" Mauve added on. By then, both Ash and May thought they were mental.  
  
"No way would I ever join Team Aqua. I didn't agree to join Team Rocket or Magma, and I sure as heck ain't going to join Aqua!"  
  
Mauve gave him a seductive look, fluttering her eyes gently. "Aww, come on, baby. It would be great to be on Team Aqua..."  
  
She smirked at May, who was glaring heatedly at her, and added, "Besides, I can treat you like a WOMAN is supposed to treat her man...not like a LITTLE GIRL does..."  
  
Ash was attempting to hide behind her, blushing from what Mauve had said. He jumped back, when the anger that had been bottling up all that day finally exploded out. "ALRIGHT, THAT'S IT! STAY AWAY FROM MY HUSBAND, YOU AQUA WITCH!" yelled the very annoyed May.  
  
Mauve and Vincent laughed harshly. "Stay out of this, wench!" Vincent said.  
  
"That's a bit too strong a word, 'wench,' I'd think." Mauve commented, "I doubt she's done it even once."  
  
"Whatever...would you get out of the way? None of this concerns you!" snapped Vincent, who turned back to May, "Don't make us hurt you!"  
  
Ash, finally, interrupted. He protectively held May close, glaring at Team Aqua. "No one threatens MY wife and gets away with it!"  
  
All six of his pokemon came out, each one with angry. May let her pokemon out, which had the same angry look. Amber, Ryudo, and Millenia jumped out, willing to fight for their 'parents.' Vincent smiled. "A fight? Right then. Let's get this thing started!" 


	7. Aqua Battles

- 7 -  
  
Vincent smirked at Ash and May. "Bring it on, kids! Let's see on how you can hang with the grown-ups!" he said smugly, letting out his Tentacruel, Wailmer, and Barboach.  
  
All of the pokemon looked enraged. Ash narrowed his eyes, a muscle in the corner of his mouth twitching. The comment had been a deep insult to not only his pride, but his ego. He looked at May who looked just as angry.  
  
May was a rookie trainer, and she knew it. But she had learned a lot in the past weeks from her loving husband, who was presently glaring daggers at Mauve and Vincent.  
  
"You ready, honey?" Ash asked, looking at May, his eyes softening. In reply, she kissed him swiftly on the lips.  
  
"I'm ready when you are!" she replied. That said, they got into position for battle.  
  
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Amber stepped up, eyeing her opponent, Vincent's Barboach. Ash frowned, feeling very unsettled. It didn't help that Mauve kept watching them (or, if he was honest to himself, HIM) out of the corner of her eye, or that everything was going awry as the battle was about to start.  
  
Another thing that didn't help matters-Amber, being at Level 16, was two levels lower then Barboach, not to mention the fact that electric attacks would be no good against the water/ground type pokemon.  
  
Suddenly, Ash smiled at the floor, the strategy he just thought of clear in his mind. "Amber, Charm."  
  
Barboach whimpered, as his overall attack power was lowered. Vincent growled, glaring at Amber, who stared between Barboach and him defiantly. "Mud Sport!" he barked.  
  
"Amber, dodge it with Quick Attack," Ash said, sticking his hands in his pockets. Barboach shot the mud at Amber, who darted away as quick as lightning, and towards the attacking pokemon, connecting with him. Barboach rolled a few feet, and jumped back.  
  
"Water gun," Vincent ordered. Barboach shot the stream of water out of his mouth, at the awaiting baby Pikachu.  
  
Ash, looking around calmly, smiled. "Thundershock, Amber."  
  
The electricity built up in Amber, before she let it loose. The lightning that she was shooting out was attracted to the water, and went straight for it. Barboach fainted, when the electricity hit his body and surged through it.  
  
"Pika!" Amber squealed, jumping up into Ash's arms. He hugged her.  
  
"You did great, Amber," Ash said. Amber was more then satisfied with just having her daddy's (what she thought of him as, along with Millenia and Ryudo) attention.  
  
Vincent called back the fainted Barboach without comment. He sneered at Ash, who had just put his attention back to the battle at hand. "No more games!" Vincent snapped, "Go, Tentacruel!"  
  
Ash let Amber crawl up onto his head, where she sprawled out in exhaustion. "Chaaaaa," Amber cooed, blinking.  
  
"Charizard, come out." Ash threw the pokeball containing the fire dragon. He knew Charizard could take the punishment the water would put against the pokemon. "I hope May is doing alright..."  
  
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May smiled. Treecko was doing great against Mauve's Marshtomp. She had known the starter, being a grass type, would have the advantage over the water/ground type which was Marchtomp.  
  
Mauve was absolutely livid. To see that *her* Marshtomp was being beat by such a small pokemon,, and a rookie to top that, angered her. "Marshtomp, use Mud Slap" she commanded.  
  
Marshtomp started throwing mud at Treecko, who waited for some type of command from May. "Avoid them with Quick Attack," May said.  
  
Treecko ran like a rocket past the piles of mud. When the small pokemon was almost right next to Marshtomp, May ordered him to use Absorb.  
  
She knew she was going to win the battle. Treecko's eyes closed, as he concentrated on stealing Marshtomp's energy. All eyes were on the two pokemon. Even Ash and Vincent had paused their battle to watch.  
  
Marshtomp wobbled and fell. It had fainted from the Absorb attack. May hugged Treecko, who started to glow a bright white. Squeaking from surprise and fright, May dropped her glowing pokemon.  
  
"It's evolving," Ash said softly. The light died down from the started, and standing in its place was a Groyvle. May stared at the new Groyvle, surprised at the change, as it was her first pokemon to evolve.  
  
Mauve, glaring at May, decided to take advantage at her shock. She let out her Pelipper, and ordered, "Pelipper, use Wing Attack on that little pest!"  
  
Pelipper flew up to the ceiling, and swooped down. Millenia saw the attacking pokemon, and flew up, and countered the Wing Attack with her own. May looked up, seeing the struggling pokemon. Ash looked at Mauve, anger etched into his expression. She had just ordered her pokemon to attack May!  
  
The Aqua woman smirked. "This should be easy, since I now have the type advantage!" Mauve said, "After I beat that silly little firebird of yours, I'll just have to take it AND your sexy husband too!"  
  
May heard Ash make a strangled noise, trying his hardest not to show his embarrassment. She glared at Mauve, who was still smirking. "MY Ash would NEVER want a whore like you, you Aqua witch!"  
  
Millenia was already willing to fight for her, Amber, and Ryudo's mommy, and it showed it her stance. Her wings were glowing a brilliant red- orange, and she seemed to radiate power from her small body. It was up to Millenia to prove whether Team Aqua would win or not.  
  
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New record for this fanfiction! Chapter finished in two days! XD Not much to say about this chapter, so I'll just go straight to reviews-  
  
DJ Rodriguez- ^^ It is getting good. And I love this cliffhanger. It makes you wonder whether they will win or not. 


	8. The Defeat

- 8 -  
  
Millenia squawked, barely managing to dodge Pelipper's Wing Attack. Pelipper shot a stream of water at Millenia's back. Unable to dodge, she was hit.  
  
Severely weakened by Pelipper's Water Gun, the firebird fell through the air, and hit the ground. Millenia had had a disadvantage, being not only a fire type, but also being lower-leveled.  
  
Many of the students gave Millenia sympathetic looks. Mauve smirked, as she slowly strolled over to the weakened Legendary. "I'm sure our boss would pay a handsome price for you, cutie," the Aqua woman cooed evilly.  
  
Millenia squirmed weakly, trying to break out of her grip. Energy drained, she failed. Mauve was about to turn her pokemon's attack on May, when something tackled her sharply in the side from behind.  
  
"Ouch! What did that?" Mauve demanded, turning to look. A Cascoon was guarding Millenia, who she had dropped. "What the...!"  
  
She looked up. With an open pokeball in hand, Ash stood nearby. He smirked at her. Behind him was Charizard, who was standing over the burnt Tentacruel. Vincent was down in defeat.  
  
"Millenia, are you alright?" Ash asked, looking at the baby pokemon. Millenia squawked at her daddy, the signal that she was fine. Cascoon looked at him, before starting to glow. It split open and Dustox emerged from the empty shell.  
  
"Wow...it evolved!" May said, as she looked at the newly evolved pokemon. Ash smiled. It was just like what his Metapod had done years back, when he had been in trouble...  
  
Dustox hovered over Millenia protectively. Mauve, glaring, changed tactics quickly. "Pelipper, go after that girl!" she ordered.  
  
Ash, seething, called out to Dustox. "Stop defending Millenia and attack Pelipper!" he yelled.  
  
At the look May gave them, Elena and Silcoon rushed forward. Alone, either pokemon would be beat up by Pelipper; together, they could prevail.  
  
"Elena, use Tackle now!" she commanded. Elena jumped and tackled the bird pokemon. Ash saw that everyone was distracted by Pelipper, Elena, and Silcoon, and decided it'd be best to take advantage of it.  
  
"Dustox, use Tackle, then String Shot!" he said, running towards Millenia and Mauve. With a battle cry, Dustox charged and tackled Pelipper, shooting webbing at it. Wings tied together, Pelipper crashed to the ground.  
  
"Finish it! Silcoon, Tackle!" May ordered. Silcoon threw itself at the immobilized Pelipper, knocking it out.  
  
The staff and the students cheered, as they won the battle. Silcoon looked at May, before it started to glow a soft white, the crowd going silent at the event.  
  
Silcoon split open along the top, light shining from within. A Beautifly emerged from inside, shaking its head and wings. "Wow, it's so cute!" May squealed, the pokemon flying around in delight.  
  
Mauve, seeing the distraction, ran toward Millenia. However, there was one thing she hadn't expected: Ahs had been keeping an eye on Millenia. He threw himself at the firebird.  
  
Millenia squawked, when Ash scooped her up. He looked up, when he slid into something, and stopped. That something had been May. With a grin, Ash presented the squawking Millenia to her.  
  
"Thank goodness your safe!" she said, hugging her baby. The pokeball connected to Ash's belt started wiggling, before it opened and Ryudo managed to get out. The baby fell over onto Ash's chest, peeking at him from between its arms. Barking happily, Elena returned to the couple.  
  
Ash pushed himself up, and fixed his clothes. They looked at the two Aqua members. Mauve straightened her stance and fixed her hair. Vincent did the same, as he recalled his pokemon. "Well, its no wonder that the boss wants you on our side!" Mauve said, "You clearly are a great Pokemon Master."  
  
He smirked at her. It showed that he took it as a complement. "But remember this: when Team Aqua sees a valuable and powerful pokemon or trainer, we want them and will stop at nothing until we have them!" Vincent added.  
  
"Well, then. I guess we just have to keep our guard up then, hm?" May said, smiling. Ash stood next to her, his thumbs hooked into the belt loops at his hips.  
  
Mauve glared at May, just as police sirens went off in the distance. "It appears that we have company," Vincent said.  
  
She nodded, and looked at Ash. "Until we meet again, handsome."  
  
Mauve blew him a kiss and winked, before leaving with Vincent. Ash went bright red, his eyes widening. He was thrown back down into reality by a smack from May, who wasn't too happy. "Ash!" she said angrily.  
  
Sheepishly, Ash smiled. "Sorry about that. But don't worry..." He went to embrace May, who accepted without hesitation. "I'm 100% yours. Not anyone else's. Just yours."  
  
She returned the hug, her head against his shoulder. "Thanks," she whispered.  
  
The dull noise that they both had ignored seemed to become magnified when they looked at them. The teachers and students where all cheering and clapping, some of them whistling. "Way to go!" one of the younger boys yelled.  
  
"You two rock!" one of the girls added. Smiling, they bowed playful.  
  
"Thank you, thank you, I'm honored!" Ash said, before falling over laughing. The students and staff all laughed, as he got back up. He looked around, before spotting Miss Yoshi. She was looking at him in the same fashion that Mauve had..  
  
Blushing, Ash shook his head. 'This is going to get rough,' he thought, sighing.  
  
What Ash didn't know, was how right he was.  
  
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As the two Aqua members retreated into the woods to keep away from the police, two beings watched the school and the action from afar. "It looks like the Aqua faction want that Ash kid too..." the first one said.  
  
A female voice added, "I would not blame them. That man...Ash...is just plain yummy."  
  
She licked her lips, eyes glinting. Her companion rolled his eyes. "Nevertheless, if Aqua is after him, he must be of great value! So, our boss wants him for now on, not his pokemon!"  
  
"Whatever. I just want that man for my own. I don't care about that wife of his, or his pokemon."  
  
He smirked. "That girl is hot...you can have Ash of all I care, I want HER!"  
  
She rolled her eyes. "Ok, let's start with our plans..."  
  
They stepped out of the woods, revealing themselves...they were members of Team Magma!  
  
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Reviews:  
  
DJ- That was a quick turn out! ^_^  
  
Dragoon knight- heh XD It could of turned into one easily! 


	9. Devon Corp

- 9 -  
  
"Could you take our pokemon to the Center to be healed up?" Ash asked. Officer Jenny had arrived just a few minutes earlier, having been called for the attack. She took the pokeballs and Amber, and ran off toward the Pokemon Center.  
  
The principal walked over, many of the smaller children following him. "Thank you, for saving the school from getting more damaged then what it was," he said.  
  
Before either Ash or May could reply, the group of children clamored about them, excitedly begging them to play. They had been given the day off, due to the circumstances of everything being disturbed.  
  
"You go on ahead," May said, "I'll play with them with you in a bit." Ash gave her an inquiring look, before letting the kids pull him away.  
  
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May sat on one of the swings, letting it sway back and forth gently. She watched the kids run about and laugh with delight, before looking at Ash. He was laughing along with them, as he took chase of the little ones. Tag.  
  
She smiled, watching as Ash purposely tripped to keep from catching up and tagging one of the giggling children. Sighing, she slowly let her mind slip off hazily. 'He is so good with children, even though both of us are barely adults...if we ever have our own...he'll be such a great father for them..."  
  
Just as May had sank into her daydreams of the future (some, she guessed, where more then mere dreams...), she had been pulled back out. Miss Yoshi had appeared from the school building, her ponytail swinging as she walked across the playground. The blonde teacher put on a cute, sweet smile when she made her way over to the group of students and Ash. He hesitantly looked at her, looking unsure of whether or not he should return the smile or not.  
  
Miss Yoshi, not even caring that several feet away May was sitting on the swings and watching her with narrowed eyes, gently ran her thin hands up and down the startled Pokemon Master's chest, mild shock covering his expression. He pulled back, trying both to get away and not step into the children at the same time. The young teacher followed, being quite persistent.  
  
A pain shot through Miss Yoshi's head as someone yanked on her hair forcefully, making her stop. She turned to look eye-to-eye at the very annoyed, very jealous May.  
  
"Touch my husband like that again, and I'll make sure you are landed in the hospital!" she said, her voice low and venomous. Miss Yoshi, shocked, stared at her. The group of students surrounding them gave them curious looks. Ash frowned, carefully getting the students back out of danger. When he knew they were safe, he walked over to the two glaring daggers at each other.  
  
"May, let's just go," Ash suggested, cautiously taking hold of her wrist. Amber clutched onto his ankle, ears bent back, since she had sneaked away from the pokemon center fully healed. He didn't want a fight to break out between the two, and was going to do what it took to prevent it. "We could go to the gym so you could get a badge?"  
  
She glared at Miss Yoshi one last time, before turning to Ash. "Alright, if you want to," May said.  
  
After saying their good-byes (Ash having to get help from the principal to get the younger students off of him meanwhile), they headed away from the school.  
  
When they were several streets away from the school, Ash slowed his steps to a mere crawl before stopping. "Thanks for the save, honey." May looked at Ash. He put his arm around her gently. "I have a moral code to uphold and I would have had to break it and hit her if she continued."  
  
She gave him a slight smile. "You're welcome. Still though, it wouldn't of hurt you severely to do it to her anyway," she replied.  
  
Ash stared at her, before laughing. They continued their walk around Rustboro. After only a few minutes of walking May stopped. He gave her a questioning look.  
  
"Could we go to Devon Corp?" she asked. Ash's inquiring look changed to thoughtful then playful.  
  
"Your wish is my command, milady," he replied, taking a hold of her hand and leading the way through the streets to the tall building of Devon Corporation. They both ignored the looks the people of Rustboro were giving them on the way.  
  
"Welcome to Devon Corp," the woman near the door greeted them. Ash nodded his head to the lady.  
  
"This is Devon?" May asked, staring curiously at the newest versions of the pokedex and navigation. Ash nodded, taking note of the fact that one of the pokedexs had a place to set a pokeball to check on the pokemon inside and making a mental note to get a new one. "What are these?"  
  
"Running shoes," he said, lazily walking along the different glass cases to look inside at the items. "Huh!"  
  
"What?" she asked, trying to see inside, around him. Ash quickly turned to her, grinning like a small child.  
  
"That is the Double PokeBattler System," he said, "Brand new thing they've come up with."  
  
May looked at it. It was a model of a stadium arena, with the normal training boxes, except there were four, one on each side of the battle area. "What's it do?" she asked.  
  
"What's it.....! May! With that, you can have a two on two trainer battle, so it'd be two pokemon battling against two pokemon, not just one- on-one!" Ash said, his voice turning excited.  
  
"I am thrilled to know the Pokemon Master approves of our new type of battling arena." Both Ash and May turned to see a man walking toward them, smiling. "It's a honor to meet, you, Mr. Ketchum. I am Mr. Stone, the President of Devon Corp."  
  
Ash smiled at the older man. Unlike the past Pokemon Master, he wouldn't let it go to his head, the reputation and the popularity. "Same for you. This is my wife, May," he said, putting his arm around her waist gently.  
  
"You are quite a lucky man to have found such a beautiful and loving woman such as her, and at so young an age!" Mr. Stone commented, smiling. Ash gave him a grin, and tightened his grip on May. He bent down slightly to give her a very quick kiss, before replying, "I know I am. I'm the luckiest man in this whole world."  
  
A ringing noise came from the PokeNavigator hanging at Ash's hip. Using his free hand, he put it to his ear and listened quietly, before replying, "Yes, thank you. We'll be there for them in a bit."  
  
"Who was that?" May asked, as Ash put the now silent PokeNavigator in its place. He gave her a quiet smile.  
  
"Just Nurse Joy. She said we could pick up Millenia and the others now if we want to. And we also still have to go to the gym....." he replied, looking around again.  
  
"Ah! You planning on challenging the leader to a battle?" Mr. Stone asked, leaning back against the wall, watching Ash. Suddenly, Ash laughed.  
  
"No, not me, I don't need to.....May is, aren't you?" Ash said. She looked at him, her expression clearly stating that she could not believe he was asking such a thing.  
  
"Need you ask?" she asked.  
  
"I'm just making sure," he replied, giving May a sheepish smile. "As I think Amber wants to go to the Pokemon Center, we have to be going. It's been a honor talking to you, Mr. Stone."  
  
The older man nodded gently, pushing away from the wall. "When we finally release the new system, I'll make sure you are the first-along with your opponents and ally-to use it," Mr. Stone said, "And good luck with the gym battle, May."  
  
Ash stared at him, before the blank look disappear and a delighted one replaced it. Mr. Stone waved them away, smiling.  
  
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"They all are perfectly healthy and healed!" Nurse Joy said, giving the handful of PokeBalls to both Ash and May. They thanked her quickly, and let the pokemon out.  
  
The pokemon ran to their trainers. Millenia pawed softly at May, until she picked up the firebird. The young pokemon snuggled up against her "mother's" chest, squawking. Beautifly and Groyvle tightly (or as tightly as they could manage) hugged her. Elena rubbed up affectionately against her legs, letting loose a happy bark.  
  
Ash gave May a smile, even though his pokemon where also trying to keep his attention. Amber squeaked, clutching onto his shoulders, almost falling off once or twice in the commotion of the others. Charizard stood proudly next to his long time friend and trainer, roaring. Ryudo clutched onto Ash's ankle, staring up at him with Dustox.  
  
"OK you all," he said, trying unsuccessfully to calm the pokemon down, "Back into the pokeballs for now, alright?"  
  
Hesitantly, all of their pokemon, minus Amber, willingly got sucked into the seven pokeballs. "So, what now?" May asked questioningly.  
  
"Um.....its only noon, how about we go to the Gym?" he suggested, "So you can challenge the leader? I'll do my battle later, since I want to see what you got!"  
  
May smiled, noticing that Ash's voice had turned playful. "You like to see me worked up, don't you?" she whispered into his ear.  
  
A small shiver ran down his spine, startling the small mouse pokemon. "Chuu?" she said, hanging onto his shoulder.  
  
"Oh, quiet!" Ash said, tapping Amber on the head, before finally leaving the Pokemon Center to go to the Gym.  
  
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When the three arrived, a lecture was going on. A large group of Junior Trainers were sitting on the sidelines, viciously taking notes as the Gym Leader talked. It seemed like she was already in the middle of the lecture.  
  
The Gym Leader herself was a girl around 16 years old. She had on a gray business-like uniform with a red tie and two red ribbons in her hair. Her purple eyes swept across the group as she talked. t  
Ash and May carefully walked around the class, and stood silently as the very edge of the arena to listen in on the lecture. The Gym Leader caught sight of them out of the corner of her eye. She stopped in the middle of a sentence, her breath caught in her throat. "Ash Ketchum?" she stated, "Pokemon Master?!"  
  
The Junior Trainers gasped and started backing away. Ash's soft laugh seemed louder in the silence, as they walked into the arena. "Yes, I am he," he said, smiling.  
  
The woman stood in slight shock, before recovering herself and bowing down in respect. "Hi! I am the Gym Leader of Rustboro Gym, Roxanne! It is quite the honor to meet you, sir!"  
  
Roxanne looked the younger Pokemon Master up and down, with a lot more subtlety then most did. She quickly stopped, before any of the trainers or the couple would notice. Smiling, she put her hand out.  
  
"None of that 'sir' business, please?" Ash asked, shaking her hand, "I'm not old enough for that!"  
  
He was silent for a minute, before continuing. "We are on a Pokemon Journey, and have come here to request a Gym Battle with you."  
  
Her eyes slightly widened, as she gulped. Fear shone in her eyes, as she looked at Ash. It would be extremely difficult to beat the Pokemon Master, if not impossible!  
  
Ash laughed, noticing the look Roxanne had. "No, I won't be fighting you today!" he said, to try to sooth the fear.  
  
Her fearful look was replaced with confusion, as he smiled. He motioned to his right, where May stood. "This is my wife, May. She would like to challenge you first today, for the badge."  
  
Every female Junior Trainer got shocked looks, been they changed to envy. May put a hand over her mouth, to cover the smirk she had. Their expressions where priceless, and it was obvious they knew she was married to the very best man in the world.  
  
Roxanne cleared her throat quietly, regaining her composure. "Of course. It would be an honor to test the skills of your lovely wife here," she said, and turned to face the class, "Everyone, your attention please! A battle against me for the Stone Badge has been requested by May Ketchum!"  
  
The inside of the gym buzzed with the soft murmur of the class for several seconds. Roxanne looked at May, staring directly into her emerald eyes. "This will be a two-on-two match, with no time limit. You are allowed to make substitutions during the match, but I am not. Accept?" she asked.  
  
"Yes, I accept," May replied, looking at her. Ash gently kissed her on the cheek, and walked away to go to the stands to watch her first gym battle.  
  
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Sitting up in the stands behind the rest of the class was two figures, who were watching the scene unravel. They had been following the couple from the minute they had left the school. The woman crossed her arms across her chest, with a frown. "Pfft, that puny wife of Ash's won't last long, I know that for sure!"  
  
Her companion frowned also, before he shrugged. "I personally don't think she's 'puny' at all. In fact...she looks...delicious," he said, licking his lips.  
  
She rolled her eyes, annoyance etched on her face. Whatever. You can have her if you like them scrawny like her. She sneaked a lingering look at the pokemon master, licking her own lips, barely blemishing her lipstick. "Just let me have her husband!"  
  
"What do you think he is, dinner?" he asked, before getting a nasty look from her, "We are here for Team Magma, anyway, not for our own wants."  
  
They looked at each other, before going silent. The key to their plan was precise timing. The only action they could take at that moment was monitor the battle between the gym leader Roxanne and May. Roxanne called out Geodude, while May called Grovyle.  
  
The battle was about to begin!  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Here is the next chapter of The Amatuer Trainer! I like the way it went, even though it took forever to write.. -cough- yeah....anyway, I'll update this again sometime, after I update League Team. Anyway, any suggestions taken and concidered...as long as they are reasonable o_O;; anyway, here is the reviews:  
  
DJ Rodriguez- thanks ^__^  
  
Dragoon knight- Possibly. Maybe. Lol. It could always happen....  
  
Akiko Koishii- Thanks, I'll try to.  
  
Melo- -blinks- This...is...a...first. Interesting idea, but most likely won't happen in this fanfiction...but neh, who knows. Might happen, might not happen. And I'm not seperating them. Hell would freeze over first.  
  
Darth Revan0518- I'll try! 


	10. Groyvle VS Geodude

- 10 -

The gym was silent, as everyone waited for the battle to start. May and Roxanne stood at their separate ends of the arena. She stared at the gym leader, while Roxanne stared right back. 'Geodude is a rock and ground type, isn't it? That means...Groyvle would have an advantage against it?' she thought.  
  
May smiled. She probably wouldn't of even known about type advantages, if Ash hadn't taught her about them in the first place. Looking around, May looked for him near the stands, where the class Roxanne had been lecturing was sitting. Ash was leaning against the railing of the lower benches, arms crossed across his chest with Amber lying sprawled out on top of his head lazily.  
  
When he noticed she was looking at him, Ash gave her a passive smile and nodded. Amber looked down, her tail twitching, having been disturbed. May returned the smile. Roxanne cleared her throat to get May's attention again. Once done, she called out her order: "Geodude, use Mud Sport!"  
  
Geodude nodded to its trainer, and rolled about the arena, flinging up mud. The students all dodged out of the way, using their clipboards and binders to shield themselves as much as possible from the flying mud and dirt. A few of them screamed at the same time.  
  
Ash looked at them, before ducking down under the bleachers to get out of the way. Amber made a face, when some of the mud hit her on the head. "Chuuuu!" she said, rubbing at it.  
  
"You can wash it off later!" he said, smiling at the pokemon, "I wonder why she's having Geodude use Mud Sport though..." He looked out from under the bleachers, and saw that Geodude had rolled to a complete stop in front of Groyvle. He carefully got out from under the bleachers, using the railing to keep from slipping on the muddy floor.  
  
The arena was covered in a thick layer of mud, but the bleachers where relatively clean, even though the occupants weren't so lucky. Some of the mud and dirt had hit them. Amber shook her head, the mud sliding off her fur. "Hey!" Ash laughed, "Not on me will you?!?!"  
  
Amber gave him a small, playful shock. Ash, in surprise, fell over, loosing his grip on the railing. Some of the students looked over at him, eyes widening. He was trying to wipe the mud off, but failing at it. One of the female students whispered to the others, before they started giggling. Amber glared at them.  
  
Roxanne gave her chatting students a warning look, before smirking. Her entire plan with the Mud Sport had been to slow down the Groyvle, and hopefully it would succeed! May looked around at the arena, and at the mud it was caked in. "Groyvle!" she called, "Use Quick Attack!"  
  
Groyvle started to go into a sprint, when it tripped, falling forward. Roxanne smiled triumphantly. 'Groyvle must not be able to gain up speed, since the mud keeps getting stuck to it...' May thought, her eyes widening.  
  
"Geodude, use Tackle," Roxanne said, smirking at May. Geodude charged forward, and slammed into the near immobilized Groyvle. The pokemon didn't fall back from the impact, but still felt the impact of the attack. "Keep it up with your Tackle! Don't let it recover!"  
  
The rock pokemon continued to charge into Groyvle mercilessly, not giving it any time to gain any type of advantage. May watched her pokemon being beat anxiously. She had never been in such a situation, and had no clue on what to do about it.  
  
"May! You need to relax!" Ash yelled, frowning, "Just concentrate! You can find a way out of this one, I know you can!" May looked at him, and nodded. She could always trust him.  
  
Taking a deep breath, May once again looked at the battle. Her first lesson as a trainer came to her mind. "Look at the surrounding area, and use it to your pokemon's advantage," May said quietly, "It is so simple! That's the first thing Ash told me almost..."  
  
She looked at Groyvle, smiling. "Looks like an animal, yet is still a plant-type! SO that would mean..."  
  
Her stance once again turned confident. Groyvle turned to May for an order of some sort. "Groyvle use Absorb on the arena!"  
  
Puzzled, Groyvle nodded. He could trust his trainer and his friend. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on the arena, blocking everything else out.  
  
The class gasped quietly, as Groyvle glowed with a faint light green aura. The ground and mud started glowing also, the Gym lit up with the glow. Roxanne stepped back, staring at the pokemon. "What is happening?" she exclaimed, surprise in her voice.  
  
Ash smiled, watching as Groyvle continued to glow along with the arena. Amber peeked at him, ears twitching. "Good girl," he whispered.  
  
Groyvle using Absorb was absorbing all of the water and nutrients from the mud, healing the pokemon. At the same time, it was turning the mud into clay. "Yes! You did it! Great job, Groyvle!" May said.  
  
Opening his eyes, Groyvle looked at his trainer, smirked proudly, and gave her a thumb's-up. Smirking also, May looked at Roxanne. "I most likely wouldn't of thought of that if it hadn't been for what my husband has taught me! Groyvle, use Fury Cutter!"  
  
Charging, the leaves on Groyvle's arms sharpened and took on a shininess. With a cry, Groyvle sped past Geodude, and sliced at the Rock-type pokemon fiercely. Geodude growled in pain, yet was still able to battle. "Rock Throw, Geodude!" Roxanne ordered.  
  
Boulders appeared around Geodude, as he threw them at Groyvle. May stepped to the side, when one nearly hit her. "Use Quick Attack to dodge them!" she said.  
  
Quickening his speed, Groyvle ran out of the way of the flying boulders. Within seconds, he was right in front of Geodude. Roxanne, who was about to yell out an order, was cut off. "Groyvle, finish it off! Absorb!"  
  
Groyvle, grabbing hold of Geodude, sucked the energy out of the Rock-type. Without a sound, Geodude fell over. The attack had knocked it out.  
  
"Geodude is unable to battle! The victory goes to May Ketchum and Groyvle!" the referee declared. Groyvle jumped up and down, before running to May. She swung him around, smiling happily.  
  
"We did it, Groyvle! We did it!" May yelled. Roxanne smiled, and recalled Geodude. Groyvle seemed happy to of helped gain the victory.  
  
"Well done, May." she said, looking at her, "I should of expected this from the wife of the Pokemon Master!"  
  
Both Ash and May turned red in embarrassment from the compliment. The gym leader pulled another poke ball out. "Nosepass, I choose you!"  
  
Out of the pokeball in a flash of red light, Nosepass appeared. Calling Groyvle into his poke ball, May let another pokemon out. "Elena, come out!"  
  
Elena barked, and rubbed up against her leg. May laughed, petting the dog pokemon. "Ok, ok. Now, let's get ready to battle!" she encouraged her pup.  
  
Barking again, Elena trotted out onto the battle field and stood in front of Nosepass confidently. The students murmured quietly amongst themselves, as they quickly jotted down notes. They went silent, curious as to what was going to happen.  
  
At the same time, the magma members watched the battle with rapt interest. That's not too badm for such a scrawny twerp," the woman said, scowling.  
  
Her partner snickered in response. "Not too bad? That woman was great!" he said, "I'm not just talking about her looks either."  
  
"Whatever. When do we make the strike?" she asked, re-crossing her legs. He looked around thoughtfully.  
  
"After the battle is over. When the dust clears out, we can make out move on them. That hot woman and Roxanne's pokemon will be much too weak to resist, while it'll be too quick for Ash to react and stop us!"  
  
"Then, we capture him and make him one of us!" she continued, smiling. Her partner snickered.  
  
"With his connection to Entei and Moltres, we could easily burn out the opposition, and make more land masses for the pokemon here on Earth!"  
  
The woman licked her lips, looking in the direction of Ash. "That, and also having my way with him. I'll show him the full pleasure of being with a real woman like me," she said delightedly.  
  
"Feh...whatever, you can take Ash if you want, just give me his wife! She is hot!" he said, "Heh, heh..."  
  
She rolled her eyes at him. Falling silent again, the two waited as they watched the battle between Elena and Nosepass.

* * *

AN: This is chapter 10 I hope you all are enjoying TAT so far! Sadly, I can't update for a while....at least for June. I'm going on vacation, and won't have internet access....so, yeah. I might get back early though! And while on the trip, I'll still have my notebooks and stuff, so I can hand write my fanfictions. So, until I return..ja ne!

Reviews:

DJ- Thanks They are always welcome here -

MysticWriter- Andrea, you coulda told me that at school! XD!!! ...How is it confusing?!?!?!


	11. Elena VS Nosepass

- 11 -

The gym waited silently, as the two pokemon stared at each other. Elena paced back in forth in front of Nosepass, glaring at the bigger pokemon. Nosepass stood still, calmly watching the small puppy. It was standing perfectly still, in the center of the battle area.

May looked from the two competitors, to Roxanne, who was just as still as her pokemon. It was starting to unnerve her quite a bit. She started biting her lower lip, thinking of what attack to use. Already it was obvious this battle wouldn't be easy...

"Elena, use Bite." Growling, Elena lunged forward, and clamped her jaws down on Nosepass's leg, but it seemingly did nothing to it. Letting go, Elena backed off, looking from opponent to trainer in confusion. May was just as confused as her pokemon about why it didn't have any affect.

Ash frowned, watching the slow battle from the sidelines. Nosepass was obviously of higher strength then Elena. Not to mention, its Special Defense was most likely strengthened using items of some sort. Amber made a small 'chu'ing sound from the spot on top of his head.

Frustrated, May watched Roxanne, who still has of yet to say a word to her Nosepass. She wasn't even going to counter the attack? "Tackle attack!" May called out to her awaiting pokemon.

Elena once again charged at Nosepass, then tried two more times. After the third Tackle, Roxanne finally put her attention into ordering her pokemon. "Wait'll Ash sees on what I can do," she whispered to herself, before issuing an order, "Nosepass, use Harden, then Rock Throw!"

Nosepass shone for a few seconds, before dimming back to normal. "Elena, evade the attack," she said.

As the rocks appeared and started falling, Elena dodged back and forth away from them. Just as the remaining ones fell, one huge piece fell on the pup's leg, hurting her severely. Elena limped back to her starting place, still able to fight even though she now was injured. May started to pull the puppy's pokeball out to return her, when Elena turned and barked. She wanted to keep fighting.

Ash turned his head to look at a group of young girls nearby in the crowd, who where talking quietly. "Aw, that is so sweet. That poochyena wants to fight for her!" one of them said quietly.

It seemed most of the occupants of the gym at that moment had been moved by the young pokemon's determination to fight for her trainer. May smiled at her pokemon, before nodding and leaving the pokeball in its holder. Ash leaned back against the railings, folding his arms across his chest.

He certainly was proud of her...her skill in both battle and reading with pokemon had improved greatly compared to when they first started on the journey. Amber seemed to have noticed that also... "One day, she'll be able to actually talk with Pokemon, without me being there to translate," he said softly to the baby.

Amber nodded in agreement. Roxanne's expression changed, as she stepped forward. "End this battle! Use Rock Tomb!"

Rock Tomb was a pokemon attack that would cover the opponent in rock, lowering their speed. Nosepass nodded to Roxanne, before powering up. May stepped back, her expression turning panicked. Pulling out her pokedex, she pointed it at Nosepass, her hand shaking. In its small robotic male voice, it talked about how Nosepass was like a magnet, and always pointed North.

"Elena, use Bite!" the small dog pokemon half ran, half limped forward, and lunged at the other pokemon. Nosepass was like a living compass, and its nose was the pointer, and that was exactly what she was aiming for. There was an audible gasp throughout the class. "Has she gone suicidal or something?!" several of them asked each other.

Ash looked at the group talking, and they silenced when they noticed the glare he was giving them. Amber giggled, breaking the silence that had fallen. He turned his glance back to the battle at hand.

The energy building up inside of Nosepass had made it start glowing a bright green. Elena sank her teeth into its nose, putting all of her strength behind the Bite. Howling, Nosepass swung its head violently to shake off the pouch, losing all of its concentration on the attack.

Elena jumped back, when Nosepass lost balance and fell over. Around the room boulders where floating in mid-air, awaiting the attack to be unleashed. Rock Tomb was about to fall onto Elena, but when she attacked Nosepass it had cancelled out the attack and now they just floated above them silently.

The class gasped, as the rocks fell down atop Nosepass, as it no long was concentrating on holding them up. Dust, dirt, and rock flew up from the falling point. When the air finally cleared off all of the dust, everyone exchanged shocked looks. Roxanne stared, _her_ shock obvious. A very much-knocked out Nosepass was under the rubble of the failed Rock Tomb.

Raising his green flag, the referee looked at the two pokemon. "Nosepass is unable to battle!" he called, "The winner of this battle and this gym challenge is trainer Marian Ketchum!"

The cheer of the crowd drowned out anything else said by the referee. Both Ash and Amber had taken up into cheering with the class.

May ran forward, and hugged Elena. "Oh, thank you thank you thank you!" she said, not bothering to breath between words. "You did a great job!"

Elena barked, her tail swinging happily. May laughed, when the puppy licked her. The class had started talking quietly, exchanging ideas and opinions on the battle, and totally ignoring the battlefield for the most part. Her laugh turned into a yelp, when someone picked her up and did a complete spin, swinging her at the same time.

That someone turned out to be Ash, when May finally opened her eyes again, and smiled. Laughing, he put her back down gently. "You did it! You won the battle!"

Amber slid down off of Ash's head onto his shoulder, and hopped onto May's. She squealed, clapping happily, thrilled that her human mother has won. "Chu! _Chuuuu!_"

Sweetly, Ash kissed May on the cheek. She smiled, before looking past him at the class. Her smile turned into a smirk, as she saw the numerous envious looks being shot at them by most of the females.

Smiling, Roxanne recalled her fallen Nosepass to the pokeball she held out, before walking the length of the battlefield. "Congratulations!" she said, shaking May's hand, "I can now see why Ash chose you to be his wife. You are an excellent trainer when to comes to battling."

"I learn from the best," May said, turning a light shade of red. She leaned back, letting Ash hug her again. He was about to give her another kiss, when the sudden explosion startled everyone.

Someone had set off a smoke bomb near them, and it filled the whole of the gym with dark thick smoke. The students and other wanderers scattered, panicked by the 'attack' and scampered to get away. Not many of them screamed or yelled, though it was obvious they where all very much afraid.

May looked around, frowning, as she stood next to Ash, who was just as confused as she was. Roxanne hurried to get to over to them, not liking being out in the open by herself. "What..."

"Who did that?" Ash asked, his voice demanding. Someone tapped on his shoulder rapidly. Frowning, Ash turned around, to be given a sharp punch in the face. He went unconscious. Choking slightly, May grabbed the pokeball holding Beautifly, and let the pokemon out.

"Clear out this smoke if you can Beautifly!" May said. Beautifly made a small sound, and flapped its wings quickly, the smoke being blown away. Standing near the front doors of the gym where two strangers. The woman had dark blue eyes, and silky midnight blue hair, which was hanging about her shoulders loosely. She looked like she could still seem seductive no matter what the situation was. Her cohort was a tall man, with a build that was more athletic then muscular, with bright green eyes and red hair. Overall, he was very handsome, but also looked very cunning.

May screamed out of rage and alarm. The man held Ash on his shoulder, being anything but gentle about it. "Who are you? What do you want?" she yelled, "Let him go!"

Lightly, the woman laughs, before both her and the man's laughter turns haughty. "Like we would listen to some the likes of you? I am Kayley, and this is Thorne," she said, "We are of Team Magma!"

Both Roxanne and May frowned. Both Kayley and Thorne were in the outfit for Team Magma, red and white bandanas and all. "We are going to take him with us to headquarters, just like our boss instructed," Thorne sneered, "That's all _you_ need to know."

Kayley smiles at the still knocked out Ash, before gently kissing him on the neck. "I'll...take good care of him." she said, giving May a lingering look, "...if you know what I mean."

May stared at her, before narrowing her eyes. Her temper was at boiling point. Kayley smirked, and started out the doors. Thorne looked at her, before smirking. "We'll get you also...you'll be _mine_."

Thorne followed Kayley out, leaving May, Roxanne, Amber, Elena, and Beautifly to stare in shock after them.

* * *

AN- Gomen for the late update! I have had a lot going on, and my To-Do list is growing! -.- So, here is my current update for The Amatuer Trainer. School is about to start on the 25th, so it might be even harder for me to update, but I'll manage it some how! 

DJ- Thank you DJ! So am I, it is always so much fun! I'll try to write the next chapter when I shrink the list of things that I need to get done. ¬.¬;; cruel, cruel life -.-;

Phoenix727- Thank you! No, I don't think anyone has, and if they did, neither team listened. Finally? -blinks- I've seen a handful of fanfictions where Ash is the pokemon master. Or do you mean recent fanfictions?


	12. The Legendary

- 12 -

May and Roxanne stared at each other for several seconds, numb, before coming back to their senses. They run after the duo, the pokemon following close behind them. Thorne and Kayley looked at them before quickly getting into the vehicle that had stopped in front of them.

"No way..." May said softly, as the car's engines roared as it sped off, "No...This can't be happening..."

Roxanne frowned, feeling just as scared and worried at the other. Amber's ears bent backwards, as she whined quietly. "How could they do this?" the gym leader asked.

Balling her hands into fists, May glared in the direction the car went. She wasn't going to let them get away with taking her husband! All of her determination returned, she looked at Roxanne and the pokemon. "I swear it," she said, "I'm going to get him back."

Smiling, Roxanne nods. "And I'll help you do it."

There was a crashing sound, before May and Roxanne glanced at each other, then back at the gym. A small group of the students where in a pile at the door, struggling to get back up. "We'll help!" they said, straightening themselves.

"Great!" Roxanne clapped her hands together, and smiled at the group. "We'll get him back from Team Magma in no time!"

Each student introduced himself or herself to May, before they went into planning what they would do. At the same time, a creature far below the crust of the Earth shifted uneasily. It had felt the presence of what was known to all the Legendary Pokemon as the Chosen One, and could sense the danger that loomed close to him.

With a cry, the pokemon hurried to get to the surface, knowing that it needed to help. The students yelped and jumped back when the ground between May, Roxanne, and the group started cracking and the red pokemon pulled itself up out of the ground.

The group of students panicked, having never seen a Legendary before, let alone up close. "That...that's Groudon!" some of them where whispering to each other excitedly, peeking nervously at the pokemon. Groudon ignored the group and Roxanne, seemingly more interested in May.

May looked around uneasily, before turning her glance back to the Legendary. She couldn't talk to a pokemon and understand them yet...she had always had Ash translate.

Groudon knew full well that of all the ones he needed to stay near and help, was the one in front of him. Roxanne and her students worried about Ash, but not as much as May did.

She bit her lip, wincing when she tasted blood in her mouth. They all looked at her when she giggled, the metallic tasting red liquid reminding her about what Ash had complained about. It had consisted of May biting her lip again, bleeding, then him kissing her and having the taste of it in his mouth. Every time, it was the same complaint: "MAY! Would you stop making yourself bleed?! Unlike mosquitoes, I don't like the taste of blood!" which would start up the teasing again.

Reality crashed back down, when Groudon made an impatient noise. "Sorry..." May said, going red, "Um...would you...do you...want to help us?"

Groudon nodded, yelling out in reply. Shocked again, the students looked at each other, once again excited. The plans where being made and set, and soon after they started on the journey to find the Magma Headquarters.

* * *

Thorne ignored the shocked looks several of Kayley's and his comrades where giving them, leading the way to their boss's office. Kayley, on the other hand, smirked at them. Unlike Thorne and her, they had not managed to capture the Pokemon Master!

When they came up to the door to the office, she knocked politely. Waiting for the muffled reply from inside, she opened the door and let Thorne go in first, before entering herself. He, purposely not being gentle about it, put Ash in one of the chairs sitting in front of the desk. Both Kayley and Thorne stepped back, when Maxie, their boss and leader of Team Magma, got up and walked around the desk.

"You have done well," he said, carefully looking over the unconscious Ash. Forming the plans and ideas mentally, he continued the same for several minutes, before going to sit down. "Take him to his cell. There has been one set up especially for him."

"Yes sir," they said. Thorne once again lifted up, this time with some more struggles since he was tired from the first time, Ash, who didn't even react. Nodding her head respectfully, Kayley let Thorne go and followed.

"A special cell? I wonder just how bad it is," Thorne commented, wincing from having to carry such a burden. Kayley didn't reply, as she walked along side him, her eyes slightly unfocused in thought. She shook her head to clear the thoughts, so that she could open the door to the cell for Thorne, and stepped back.

Thorne froze, staring in total amazement. Getting aggravated, Kayley pushed him the rest of the way in, before taking a shocked look at the 'cell'. It had been made up to be more like a room for royalty, then for a prisoner. "It seems the boss wants him to be as comfortable as Team Magma can make him," Kayley said, her eyes still widened.

Rolling his eyes, Thorne unceremonially dropped Ash on the fixed up bed, before turning to look at Kayley. "As long as we get rewarded for our trouble, I don't care what they do with or to him," he replied, "Just so you know, the boss wants his mind _intact_, and also healthy so don't get him to the edge of death or insanity."

Kayley looked slyly at Thorne. "Who? Me?"

"Yes, you. Because I'm leaving you here. You can watch him, I have better things to do." He eyed the Magma woman, weighing in his mind whether or not she could handle it.

"I can take care of him fine. I won't murder him; I value my life more then that," Kayley said. Thorne nodded stiffly, before taking his leave. She smirked, and licked her lips, delight making her eyes sparkle. "...doesn't mean I can't have any fun though."

* * *

This is chapter 12! Gomen for it taking so long! I'm trying to get it done as fast as I can without the chapter sucking horribly –snicker- Anyway! I might end up replacing this chapter with a beta'ed version later on, but all that would be changed is grammar and spelling anyway. I've also given up on replying to reviews, since I just repeat myself normally anyway .;;


	13. Hoenn Search

- 13 -

Ash shivered, curling into a tight ball. He had just barely grasped onto consciousness, as time passed by in silence. Moaning deep in his throat, Ash twisted sorely, before pushing himself into a half sitting position. He looked around wearily, his eyes still unfocused. "Ah, finally decided to wake up, hmm?" a voice purred above him.

Hearing the voice cleared his mind. Ash stared at Kayley in disbelief. It quickly turned into disgust, as the realization hit that she had been there the whole time. "Where am I? What do you all want?" Ash asked, quickly backing off, using his legs and arms to push himself.

"Oh, come now, why should it matter where we are at?" Kayley said, giving him a - fake – hurt look. "We _are_ all alone after all, so we could have some…fun." Ash's eyes widened slightly, as he turned a pale red in both embarrassment and anger. She had some nerve to even suggest it! He looked around uncomfortably, at a loss as to what to do; he didn't have all that many options.

* * *

"This is hopeless!" Roxanne yelled, dead stopping. Everyone looked at her, worry flashing across their features. "We've been searching all over for him! There hasn't been any sign of Team Magma or Ash anywhere!"

They had, indeed, been searching the countryside with a feverish determination. Though, there had been no sight nor sound of Team Magma or its captive prisoner. Some of the students where starting to lose their confidence gradually. "We can't give up! They can't have just vanished into thin air!" May said, frowning at Roxanne.

"I know. We all need a rest though, I think," the Gym Leader pointed out. May looked at the group of students that where milling about, waiting for a decision to be made on what they would do next, before nodding. "Thank you. Ok you lot, take a break!"

With a large sigh, they all sat down on the ground where they had been standing. "He must be really important to them," May said, making shapes in the dirt with her nail as she spoke, "Though, why? I know he's the Pokemon Master, but that can't be the only reason behind it…"

Amber and the other pokemon watched the trainer's with curiosity, before turning to the bigger pokemon. "Why is he so important?" Amber asked, and the others nodded.

"Well, he's connected to Earth through what is called Fate and Destiny, which brings with it immense power." Groudon started to explain, "Some day, Ash will have to summon the most powerful pokemon, along with all of the Legendary ones, to stop a disaster from hitting the planet that you cannot even imagine in your worst dreams."

The pokemon all stared at him in wide-eyed shock, a look for horror and dear starting to creep across their faces. The Legendary calmly got up, when the trainers and Gym Leader prepared to start again. Seeing just how passive the stronger pokemon was being, the others relaxed again and followed his lead. Amber trotted over to cling to May's ankle on the way.

"So…" Roxanne said, cautiously, "what is it like?"

The students all stared at the two curiously, their attention caught by the vague question. May gave the Gym Leader a perplexed look.

"What is what like?" she asked, scooping up the baby pokemon that had still been riding on her ankle ("Chu!"). Roxanne gave her students a thoughtful look, before giving a reply.

"Well, what's it like to be married to the pokemon master?" It was May's turn to stare at them, more out of shock then curiosity though. Amber and the other pokemon went quiet, as if they too were waiting for her to talk.

"Um…" May looked absent-mindedly at the scenery as they walked in silent, before turning to glance at them again. "He's a wonderful husband, though he can be really stubborn sometimes."

Amber made a small sound, like a squeak, shaking her head. May laughed, stroking the pokemon. "No…all the time!"

The students laughed, trying to hide it at the same time. "Isn't that an annoyance?" one of them asked.

"No, not really. Ash…his heart is in the right place most of the time. And he makes sure the pokemon and I am taken care of," she replied, setting Amber down.

"Are you just gunna travel?" another one of the girls asked. May shook her head, smiling.

"No, we'll most likely be going back to Lunar sooner or later. We've got a house there, sitting locked up in Meribia. So, when we are ready, we're going to settle down. There's also already been the thought of having children someday." The few boys with them rolled their eyes, as the girls 'aww'ed.

"Will you ever come back so we can see the baby?!" most of them, including Roxanne, yelled. May had to turn away, to keep from laughing at them, for several minutes before finally looking at them again.

"Well, I don't know. We might."

* * *

The search continued on through the day. Miles away from the small group though, the Team Aqua headquarters was alive with activity. The Leader, Archie, was considerably peeved. He called in two of his agents. The pair in question walked in, abeit cautiously. "Yes sir?" they said, standing in front of him.

"You failed at getting the Chosen One! You are to make a search of the region! I am giving you access to the repritorie! _Find him!_" Archie snapped. The two bowed down low, nodding in agreement.

"Yes sir, we will do as you order us." They hurried out again, to start their own search.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ash was having his own troubles. He was doing everything he could to avoid Kayley at all costs, and hiding wherever it was possible. Kayley, unlike Ash, seemed to enjoy the cat and mouse game they where in – with her being the cat.

Ash ground his teeth together, crouched down behind a couch, as he waited in silence. He didn't appreciate the Magma woman's advances, nor her continuing chase. She kept trying to get close, and he didn't want thing to do with her. Cursing silently, he peeked around the couch. Kayley was looking around, smiling slightly. He slid back in place, sighing.

The situation didn't give him many options, except to hide from Kayley until he could think of another way out. Ash rubbed his eyes, a headache forming rapidly. He wouldn't strike her, no matter how she acted; being an almost total gentleman, he refused to. She whistled softly, sitting on the bed passively. "You won't even give me a little chance?" Kayley whimpered, turning and looking toward the headboard.

Cringing, Ash stayed silent. He wasn't about to give it away that he was there. The Magma agent got up, faking a sob and clutching her chest. "I am much more a woman then that…girl, you are with! We could get so far together, all she'll do is hold you back!"

"That's my wife you're talking about!" Ash yelled at her, balling his hands into fists on the floor, "I don't want anyone else, I only want May!" He went quiet, realizing he had just gave himself away, and cursed under his breath. Things just kept getting worse.

* * *

Ryudo stopped, looking around curiously. May and Roxanne looked at each other, then at the students who had startled expressions. "Ry!" the pokemon said, sniffing at the air, before jumping up and down.

Amber squealed, clinging to May excitedly. "What are they so jumpy about?" one of the boys asked, staring questioningly at the two baby pokemon, who where still jumping about.

Groudon and the others joined in sniffling the air, picking up on the same thing as the baby. "I think they are going to finish our search for us," May answered, dumbfounded as to how the pokemon could use their sense of smell, even though it had been hours since the search started to begin with.

"Let's follow them, and see where they lead us to," Roxanne suggested, quickening her pace to keep up to the trotting pokemon. The students shook their heads, before they followed stride with May.

* * *

Both groups, Team Aqua and the Trainers, where busy searching the area. Aqua was following the reports they where getting about Magma's activity in a town that was not that far off, and the two that had attacked the school, along with a handful of other members, headed straight to the town, in hopes of finding their target. This time, they refused to fail.

* * *

This is the newest chapter! I know it, it took bloody long enough to write. I had my reasons for taking so long though . Not that I'm gunna list them here, I rather not, it'd take too long. Anyway, please review and comment on the fanfiction, and I'll try to get the next chapter done faster then this one was.


	14. March Into Magma

The young trainer's shivered slightly, as the wind blew gently. They had continued their search, and where currently at Route 116, still with very little lead as to where their pokemon team where leading them. Ryudo looked at the legendary Groudon forlornly, when it lost the scent trail.

"Do not worry," the larger pokemon said as soothingly as he could, "It is just the wind throwing you off." The baby's, their confidence restored, tried with all their hearts to pick up on the trail again, following close to Groudon and the determined Groyvle.

May watched them, her mind starting to wander, as the pokemon found their trail and ran off ahead. It was obviously getting much stronger… Turning to look at Roxanne, she frowned. "Could you let out Geodude and Nosepass?"

Roxanne, along with most of the student volenteers, looked at her curiously. There was already a good amount of pokemon loose – with Groudon, Ryudo, Amber, Millenia (her Moltres), Groyvle, and a few odd others making up the lot – so the request seemed redundant. "Oh, why? I can, but…" the gym leader asked.

"I just have a feeling we'll need them up ahead is all," May replied, continuing to watch the road. Roxanne nodded, and let her two rock pokemon out, the red beams shooting several feet in front of them and the pair formed.

"Why are they needed?" one of the younger boys asked. Roxanne shook her head, and turned a serious eye on them. She knew exactly what May wanted them for, and it was the perfect time to test her students.

"Do any of you remember what this road leads to?" she questioned. There was silence, as they thought over the answer. After several minutes, another young boy piped up, "It leads to Rustsurf Tunnel, so we are going right into an area of the rock element."

"That's correct. That also means this will be easier on us, in the long run…" Her students nodded, before talking amongst themselves again. Roxanne shrugged, and smiled at May. "That's your reasoning, isn't it?"

Nodding, May didn't smile back. Amber clung to her ankle and leg, swaying with the movements, before jumping up and climbing onto her head. The students giggled, when the baby pikachu started "talking" with May. Though, the only way the confused trainer could tell what the pokemon was talking about was by the tone being used, which was worried and sad.

"Don't worry, my little one. I'm sure Ash is alright, and that'll he be happy to see us when we find him," she said, soothing stroking Amber's fur. As she jumped back down and trotted to get back up to Millenia and Ryudo, May watched her go. "At least…he just has to be."

As the small group trekked onward, what they didn't realize was that another enemy, Team Aqua, was not far off the same path they where walking, both with the same goal; to get to the Tunnel, and Team Magma!

- - -

Route 105 was one of the traveling routes that would take someone to Route 116, though the means of doing so needed either great swimming skills, or a water pokemon; it was the ocean. It was, unusually, devoid of all swimmers and trainers, except for the lone group speeding along on various water pokemon, though most used Tentacruel and Sharpedo's.

The group, by chance, was Team Aqua. At the head of the group was Vincent and Mauve, their determination the driving force behind the excruciating speed the pokemon where forced to go at. They had been given orders to find Team Magma, and to take what they wanted, which incidentally was exactly what their rival team and enemy wanted: the Pokemon Master.

"That kid will not escape from us! I'd hurt him were it not for the boss wanting him and that he is crucial for our goals to be accomplished!" Vincent growled deep in his throat, the memory of the battle that had occurred at the school in Rustboro still paining him. Being defeated by such a young man had been a blow to his pride indeed.

"Oh too true, my partner. I am much more interested in being rid of that prissy wife of his, and having the man for myself, however." Mauve responded, laughing, "Of course, that must wait until Boss has finished using him in the plans."

Vincent rolled his eyes up, looking at the sky, and snorted. The fascination a lot of women had for the Master never ceased to amaze him. As far as he could see, there was nothing to be attracted to, though Mauve had different thoughts on the matter.

The army continued on in grim silence, the water being the only noise made as the water pokemon moved at a steady pace. They where heading straight toward a very dangerous situation…and into a battle that no one would expect.

- - -

Ash bit his lip, his discomfort increasing by the second. Not even Marjoly had caused him to be so uneasy, and she could have struck him down with a single blow, even if he was the Dragon Master in Lunar! _How ironic_, he thought, though he had no time to ponder the fact, as the situation invaded again.

Once again, he was in a very tricky position, one of which Ash had not a clue of how to get out of. He tried to pull his hand loose, but to no avail. The ropes binding his arms and legs to the posts of the bed where taut already, and no amount of pulling would break them. What made it worse for him was that his captor had, to his embarrassment and disgust, made sure to get him stripped.

There was one thing he was grateful for though; she had, at least, not even attempted to remove his boxer shorts. How long that would last, Ash wasn't quite sure and didn't care to know.

"Well, that answers that question." Kayley giggled, eyeing the weary man, "Red, hm?"

Ash's eyes widened slightly, before he glared at her. He realized that glaring was only making the situation worse for him, as the Magma woman seemed to actually _enjoy_ watching him suffer. Clenching his teeth, he tried once again to pull on the ropes, ignoring the stares from Kayley.

The rope held steady though, and he had no option but to stop. Ash bit his tongue, when Kayley swung herself over and sat with the Pokemon Master's legs even more immobilized between her knees. "It's no wonder you have most if not all of the world's female population drooling… none of them are this lucky though."

Kayley smirked at him. Ash stared dully at her, before looking around. "You might be able to all too easily take my body, but my heart and soul are impossible for you to reach," he said, turning his glance back onto the smirking lady. The words rang in his ears, and it hurt. _I am sorry…May…please…please forgive me for this._

An alarm sounded off, just as the giggling his captor was scooting up further. The door swung open, and a grunt rushed in, panting. Ash gaped at him in shock, turning slightly red. "Ma'am! We have got reports that intruders are heading this way! It seems that the Legendary Groudon is with them also!" the grunt quickly reported.

Kayley glared at her comrade, and climbed off, straightening herself. Ash sighed slightly, relieved. For the moment the advancement had stopped, but he had a feeling deep inside that he knew exactly who the intruders where. _Good girl, May. You've found me,_ he thought, suddenly feeling soothed.

"You are dismissed," Kayley hissed, and the grunt ran out, not wanting to stick around to feel the wrath of the halted Kayley. The irritated Magma woman turned and looked at Ash, who had resumed looking dully at her. There was no reason to let her know he knew who was coming. "I'll take care of these pests that have dared to come our way, then I will come back for you."

Kayley stomped out of the room, and the door slammed shut behind her. The locks clicked into position, before Ash finally relaxed. For the time being, he was safe from any further humiliations at the hands of his captor, though he knew it most likely wouldn't last forever. _Stay safe you all…you don't know what you are marching into here,_ Ash thought, closing his eyes.

- - -

May stopped with the group, trying to gain their grounding again. A mist was filling the cave, causing a confusion among them that only caused even more problems then before. "What is this!" Roxanne asked, frowning at her students and May.

Amber growled slightly, before letting loose a shock of electricity. The cave became lit up by the energy, also brightening the trainers' hopes. "Thank you…Amber?" a few of the students said, before they all began walking through. The going was slow, as they were trying to be cautious of their surroundings. Even Groudon was trying to be watchful of what he did.

Roxanne elbowed May gently, and pointed out Geodude and Nosepass. They had started talking to the wild pokemon in the area, gathering information for them. "What did they say?" she asked, as her pokemon returned.

Several minutes went by as Roxanne listened attentively to her pair, before looked at May and her students. "The pokemon here are very angry, since some humans set up some sort of base within this cave and it is disturbing them greatly. We're getting close, I believe," she said.

May smiled slightly, sighing in relief. "So, Magma is in here then. We'll need to be even more careful for now on." As they continued on, what they didn't notice was another group entering the tunnel…

- - -

Only a half-hour before, Team Aqua had landed on the shore with their Water pokemon. They quickly returned the pokemon in question, and headed past the Petalburg Woods and Route 104. "We are close," several of them said, seeing the tunnel they needed to go through up ahead.

Speedily, they made the hike up to the top of the tunnel, and above the Magma headquarters. "We aren't close enough," Mauve commented, looking around, and frowned at them, "This is going to be a real problem, you know."

"Hm…" Vincent watched as some members of Team Magma left a building opposite the direction that they were. "We need to make this hard and fast." In agreement, the team ran across and toward the building.

A battle was about to rage between the two teams.

- - -

AN: This is chapter 14! I really do apologize for the time it is taking me to get these out. It is just taking a long time for me to get the inspiration to write at the moment. -- Which is bad news. If any of you like, I do have a livejournal, with the screen name BadLuckNovelist, where I normally post news on what's going on here. I'm gunan try to post fanfiction updates there also :3 So, please bare with me, I am sorry about the wait, and am trying to finish as fast as I can. (I even just gave up homework to finish this one! XD)

Anyway, I am rather pleased with this chapter. It's a little over five pages long at 12 Ariel….not bad, eh? For me anyway ;; Thank you for being as patient as you all have been, I can't blame you for getting irritated. –hugs for you all-


	15. Reunions

- 15 -

Roxanne threw an arm out, blocking her students from going any farther. May stopped, looking curiously at her. "Return your pokemon," she said quietly, pulling out two pokeballs, and calling her own back without a word.

Nodding, May signaled to the baby pokemon to return, and brought each back into their individual pokeball one at a time. When the students had returned any of theirs that had been out, they huddled together in the shadows, giving Groudon room. The Legendary looked at them, before nodding and diving down into the ground, as the earth split along the tunnel for the pokemon to enter it.

As it repaired, the students and May looked at Roxanne. "Now, what is going on? Did you hear something?" she asked, hushing the students.

The gym leader nodded solemnly, and put a finger to her lips. Going totally silent, the group listened carefully. They could hear the footsteps that where echoing throughout the cavern tunnel, as their enemies searched. Frowning, they continued to listen to see if they could find a way past without being spotted.

Signaling for the group to stay as silent as they could, Roxanne split the group in two, taking one and going in one direction, while May took the other. They ducked down their sides of the tunnel, as more agents from Team Magma passed by, looking around wearily. May shook her head, peeking over the rock she was behind to look over at the others.

When the officials were out of sight and earshot, the two nodded to each other, and stared the slow creep through the tunnel, keeping to the shadows as much as they could. After only a short distance, though, their cover was blown, as one of the students screamed when she tripped up over a rock, slamming into the other students.

Cursing under her breath, May ran along, motioning for the students to follow, Roxanne doing the same. They didn't get far, however, as several Magma people surrounded them, cutting off any escape route they might have had. "What are we going to do?" a few of the students asked, looking at May and Roxanne.

Roxanne looked sternly at them, silencing them once again. She reached to pull a pokeball out, when a shout from behind stopped her. May bit her lip, giving the Gym Leader a hopeless look, before turning to glance down the tunnel. A group was walking toward them rapidly, grim faced and ready for an attack. "Aqua," she mouthed silently, wanting to sink into the ground.

"Now!" Roxanne yelled, and the students bolted, hiding among the rocks and shadows once again, May keeping near Roxanne. "We need to get to the building, but this…could take some time."

By then, Aqua had arrived, glaring daggers at the Magma troupe. Before anyone could count to ten, pokemon were unleashed, and a fight was going on between the two rival teams. May gave Roxanne a wry look, then nodded toward the various hiding students and smiled. Catching on quickly, she nodded in agreement. "Make havoc," she ordered to the students, who all pulled out their pokemon, "but stay out of the way as much as you can, you all aren't strong enough to win a battle against them."

Roxanne nodded in approval, as the trainers and students did as instructed perfectly, throwing their pokemon's attacks out from behind the rocks. The pair slipped off, away from the battles and down the rest of the tunnel, looking over their shoulders cautiously to ensure that no one was following.

May went in first, glancing around for any people that could get in the way, and waved Roxanne in. Near silently, they stayed to the darker areas of the compound as the search started. "Where do we start?" May asked, frowning at the younger girl.

Shrugging, she stepped past May, and entered a corridor, pulling the trainer with her. Putting a finger to her lips, Roxanne pointed out two Magma grunts, who where locked in what looked like a deep conversation. When they got closer though, it became clear all they were doing was complaining. May couldn't help but stare at Roxanne, then the two grunts, in shock; they where talking about Ash!

"Of course, we get the bare minimum, yet that Master gets a room that even a king would be envious of! Bah!" one of them muttered, glaring down the corridor. The second one shook his head in response.

"At least they let you stay! If you have a problem with him, go take it up with him and stop moaning to me." The first of the two looked critically at the other, narrowing his eyes.

"That's hard to do when I don't even know where the damned room is," he growled. The second sighed, and pointed in the direction he meant.

"Go down that hall, you idiot, and its only up the stairs, and then up another flight to the top floor. Why not use your brain for once?" Roxanne blinked, shaking her head in disbelief of how idiotic the two could be, discussing that in an open hallway! They stayed pressed against the wall, until the two grunts went on their way, and ran down the hall and up the stairs, not stopping to rest.

Slowing to a normal pace, the two ignored the seemingly unexciting door that was near the flight of steps they had just came up. It was their mistake, however, as it flew open, and several Magma members came out, blocking their way back downstairs. Roxanne pulled her pokemon out, seeing the battle that was about to happen. "Go on!" she said, releasing them, "Go find your lover! Husband, whatever!"

May hesitated, her hand at the pokeball holding Amber. She didn't want to leave her companion behind, not after having gone through the whole search together… "GO!" Roxanne yelled at her, glaring, "I'll be fine, just go find Ash!"

Roxanne turned back to the group, smiling sourly, and started the fight, ordering her pokemon. May looked thankfully at her, before turning and quickly moving on, swallowing nervously. She wondered what exactly had happened since the problems at the gym…

Getting to the last flight of stairs, she looked back, straightening her shoulders determinedly and starting up, staying alert to any sounds or movements. May was getting close; she could feel it in her very bones.

The final hall was nothing but doors! May sighed in resignation, and started trying doors, finding most of them locked, with the ones that opened being empty. "What the…what is wrong with these people?" she wondered out loud, finding yet another room empty.

Finally, she got to the last door, and put her hand on the handle. May looked at it, as it rattled quietly under her shaking hand. What would happen if this room was empty too? Would that mean the whole search of the floor was for nothing, that the guard was wrong? She shook her head, the doubts flying away, and cracked the door open, peeking in.

Inside, Ash tilted his head, trying to see what had opened the door, knowing it wasn't a normal Magma agent, since they would just barge in, not slit it. Through the minimal opening, he saw the worried, deep green eyes of his near discouraged wife. He sighed in relief, relaxing slightly, at the sight.

Eyes widening, May flung the door the rest of the way open, staring at the scene before her. Of all the things she had been expecting, seeing Ash tied down with ropes connected to the posts of a bed and wearing next to nothing was not one of them. Slyly, May cast her eyes down, putting on a pouting look, and rubbed the toe of her sneaker against the floor.

"Oh, why are you in such a condition?" she asked, her voice sounding just as sullen as she looked. It took everything in her not to start laughing at the look Ash got; a mix between shock, panic, and worry. The fact that he was falling for it was what made the whole thing hilarious to her though.

Ash frowned at May, fidgeting even though the ropes still wouldn't give enough room to actually move anywhere. "It wasn't my idea…" he protested quietly, once again looking uneasy, "it was that bi…..Kayley's."

May snickered, knowing all too clearly what Ash had intended to say instead of 'Kayley.' "But how could this happen? She couldn't have caught up with you that easily? Must have been willing to…"

He struggled against the ropes, wincing when they cut into his wrists and ankles at the movements. "No! That wasn't it at all!" he said, though it was near yelling.

The giggling stopped Ash before he could continue on, as May stood near the door, trying unsuccessfully to hide her giggles. Ash scowled at her, not finding anything about the situation funny. Her laughter stopped though, when the implications of Ash's last statement finally fell on her. "Kayley…was going to…seriously?" May asked, blanching.

Grimly, Ash nodded, biting his lower lip. "I've never been so serious," was the reply.

It was May's turn to scowl, her very blood turning hot. She knew Kayley had been making the suggestion of it, but hadn't been sure whether it was just an idle threat or if the older woman had been telling the truth. However, she didn't have time to contemplate it, as the pokemon came out, uncalled for. Even Ash's, who had been retrieved by Roxanne earlier on, were revealed, and rushed over to the Pokemon Master, who wasn't quite sure whether to be amused or not.

Amber squealed, climbing with the others to get up next to him, the group making more noise then either May or Ash would of liked. They didn't question it though, as the baby pokemon cuddled the bound man, not even noticing the state he was in except that he seemed all right. Grovyle jumped back, using a mild Razor Leaf to cut the ropes holding Ash's wrist immobile, then the ones holding his ankles. Ash rubbed his wrists, smiling at the group. "Thank you," he said.

They made their own noises in response, nodding their heads. "We need to get out of here, fast," May said, peeking out the door to make sure no one was coming, "Roxanne had to stay back and fight a group that ambushed us, and the students are at the tunnel making total chaos to keep them at bay."

Nodding absent-mindedly, Ash quickly got up, waiting a minute for the circulation to continue totally, before getting up and grabbing his clothes from the table across the room. He didn't have time to get dressed though, as the door hit the wall when Mauve entered, pushing it with her delicate hand.

"My, my, my!" she said, licking her painted lips, "It's not everyday someone sees this! Even though…it does make me wonder what is left to be seen…and touched?"

Ash froze in place, turning a very bright red in embarrassment once again. He was starting to think he'd never get away from Team Magma _or_ Team Aqua unscathed. May wheeled around, glaring at Mauve with her fists clenched. Mauve stepped in totally, her hands on her hips, but quickly steps aside when Kayley returns.

Sighing, Ash pulled on his hair calmly, plopping down on the floor sedately. There was no point in getting aggravated over the turn of events, and making it worse. He looked away from the three women, not even wanting to witness the catfight he knew Mauve and Kayley would start, especially with May there also. His worry overtook his wish to leave though, and he turned back to watch them, not wanting his understandably upset wife to get hurt in the onslaught.

The three stared silently at each other, the tension between them building. Without speaking words, they knew exactly what was about to happen; a fight, for the claiming of the Pokemon Master. Of course, the only reason May was staying involved was that she was so she could fight for _her_ husband, because she wasn't willing to give him up without a fight.

Kayley smirked at the younger girl, saying the one line to make the anger burning within her flare brighter, for she wanted it to prove interesting: "He shall be _mine._"

-

AN: This is chapter 15! It took a little less time then I thought it would oO surprisingly. Anyway, I hope it is ok, and that it is up to the standards of the rest of the fic (or surpasses them!). It is getting quite dramatic so far That's neither here nor there though. Please, thank you for reading this far, and I will try to get chapter 16 up ASAP!


	16. Fight for the Master, Part 1

- 16 - 

May scowled at the two older women, crouched down on the floor and breathing heavily. It had been several minutes since the initial move, and the three women watched each other warily. "So, the little girl can hold her own," Mauve said, patting at her swollen lip, "Even managed to hurt me..."

"Quite an accomplishment," Kayley agreed, before smiling wickedly, "Not going to be enough to beat us though." She ran at May, pushing her back onto the table. "I love a good battle!"

The magma woman was starting to feel uneasy, no matter how confident she sounded. She hadn't expected the younger girl to put up such a fight, let along a fight that wasn't even about protecting her own safety. Smiling, Kayley whispered evilly into her ear, "I cannot wait until the fight is over...your hubby is almost _too_ delectable...not quite though."

"What is he, dinner to you!" May asked, thrashing determinedly, "Gods, I hate people like you!" Kayley laughed, punching the ruffled girl in the face. Going still, May stared at her with hardened eyes. Worriedly, Ash made a move to get up, as the three women stayed silent, watching each other.

"Don't move," Mauve said, looking out of the corner of her eyes at him, "if you know what's good for you." Ash went quiet once again, frowning. The pokemon had by then surrounded him, just as scared and worried.

"We'll all get out of here just fine," he whispered to them, settling back down on the floor to continue watching the fight.

Roxanne had listened closely to the footsteps heading toward the second set of stairs until she could hear them no more. Her mind focused on the battle finally, she put her pokemon into use. One by one the Magma grunts were beat, though not without getting their own hits in.

It got dangerous though, when some of them abandoned the idea of a pokemon battle, and dove at her alone. Crying out in shock, Roxanne called out her Nosepass to fend off her attackers, glaring at them. "Cheat," she said, doing a palm strike to the man that got past Nosepass, "ganging up on someone like that!"

His head snapped back at the impact, as he stepped back from the pain of it. When Roxanne pulled back, she saw a dribble of blood coming from the grunt's nose. Her attack hadn't done all that much damage, but it had given him a bloody nose. Looking past him, she saw that Nosepass had managed to scare off the others, and was standing and waiting for an order from her.

When he saw her pokemon group together, the man scampered off, with one hand to his face. _First smart move they've made_, Roxanne thought, as she smiled at her team, "Great work! We beat them!"

Once the cheering stopped, Roxanne couldn't help but get a sinking feeling. She looked back toward the staircase leading upstairs, and frowned. Roxanne knew something was wrong, but it was obvious it was something she shouldn't get involved in. Only time and patience would show whether she was right or not.

-

There was more silence, along with the tense stillness of the room. Amber's ears flattened back, as she crouched down and covered her eyes with her paws when May curled her legs up and kicked Kayley in the stomach with her heels. Clutching her hurting abdomen, the Aqua woman collapsed down, and growled. "Damn you, since when did you know how to fight like this?" she hissed, before springing back up.

Mauve snickered slightly. After seeing the damage that could be done, she wasn't about to intervene in the pair's plight. She didn't want to get seriously hurt for a fight. When both were winded and tired, _that _would be when she'd strike. For the moment though, she was content with just sitting back and watching.

"You try living in Lunar most of your life without learning the delicate art of battle," May said, wishing at that moment that the Goddess hadn't put that protective barrier around Lunar to protect the rest of the world from the magical attacks and monsters. Kayley deserved to feel the bite of Nitro Dagger. "You should find out the history of who you are about to attack before doing so. It'll help you in the long run, you know."

With a cry of rage, Kayley lunged at the frowning girl. May stepped back, before going forward for a move of her own. Neither actually hit the other, however, as Ash finally got up to stop the fight before it went on any further. With very little grace, he jumped forward, throwing an arm out to stop Kayley from executing her right-hook.

On the other hand, Ash ended up taking a very painful uppercut from May.

There was once again silence, as the four stared at each other. Kayley pulled back, glaring at them, before getting down on her knees. Her breath had been knocked out, and she was panting. Ash closed his eyes, his head tilted downward. The punch had seriously hurt.

The silence was broken by the quiet giggles from their pokemon, as they snickered and giggled into their teammates. Ignoring the playful baby pokemon, May stepped back, her hands covering her mouth, and stared in horror at Ash. "My goddess...I'm sorry!" she said, wincing, "I wasn't aiming for you! I'm so sorry!..."

"Just a scratch." Ash rubbed the spot gingerly, knowing a bruise was going to form eventually. He made a small noise, which sounded a lot like an 'erk,' when May ran forward, and flung her arms around him, hanging onto him tightly. "...and a broken rib or two."

The small attempt at humor was lost, however, when Mauve dove into May, the two of them tumbling across the floor. "We aren't finished yet!" Mauve growled, slapping the younger girl vehemently, "You haven't won yet!"

Most of the pokemon scattered, whimpering fearfully once again. The struggling pair had very nearly hit them, and they didn't wish to see how close they could get before getting involved. When a light vibration started through the building, they looked at Ash curiously, waiting for answers to their questioning eyes.

He was getting just as uneasy as they were. "Return," Ash said, pulling each pokemon into their individual pokeballs, one at a time, with the exception of Amber. "This can't mean anything good."

Chapter 16, Part 1. I'm chopping it up to try to get it up faster, and will probably combine them later on, after its finished and done. -sighs- The straining to write is getting annoying for the both of us, me for lacking the motivation and you for waiting so long, and for what? 3 freakin' pages. u.u; Its something though, right? Anyway, normal blah blah blah, thanks for reading, will attempt to get Paige to wake up (either by prodding her or shoving my boot up her arse, whichever will work best) so the rest can be churned out _before _the next millenium.


	17. Fight for the Master, Part 2

- 16 B / 17 -

With a roar, Groudon sped around the foundations of the building, clawing at them as he passed. The area around him groaned in protest, cracks appearing in the concrete and dirt. He could feel the shifting forces around him, as the weakened stone started crumbling from the strength of the Legendary Pokemon and from the battle raging on the surface,

His work done, Groudon sat back to await the time he would be needed.

---

"What was that?" Kayley looked up, her face darkening as the vibrations rising through the building strengthened steadily. Her opponent – and ally – shook her head, frowning. "It felt like-"

The building jerked, tilting over. Mauve cursed under her breath, giving them a sour look. She wanted nothing more then to continue on with the battle, but her life was much more important then a mere man! "This isn't over," she said, her eyes narrowed.

She bolted out of the door, clasping a pokeball from the pouch that was on her hip. Looking wearily at the remaining two women, Ash jumped back, as the table fell over – right onto the place he had been crouching a moment earlier. "We need out of here," he muttered, stepping around the fallen furniture.

Kayley looked at May, who was biting her lower lip thoughtfully, before smirking. "You can work our how to on your own," the selfish woman sneered, following the same course that Mauve had just taken with as much elegance as she could muster in such a situation; she couldn't just stumble away!

"Gah, why now?" Ash growled, stumbling slightly when the building jerked once more, this time more violently, "May, come on! I don't want us to die yet!"

"…yet?" May grabbed his hand, giving him a humored smile, as the vibrations started again, this time not stopping to pause every few minutes. She never heard the reply, as they fled through the halls, hearing crashes all around as the animated building shifted. "Will we be able to escape before it collapses?"

"I don't know, but I'm not about to sit and let us be caught in it," he said, scowling. They were an inch from being killed, and she still was asking questions! Silence fell between them, with the exception of their footsteps and the surrounding racket.

- - -

Roxanne twisted around just as she got down to the bottom floor, frowning all the while. She could see several forms coming down in her direction, and wisely moved out of the way as they barreled past in the frenzy to escape. It took several seconds to realize that two were still missing, having never shown up.

With a cry, the young gym leader bolted back up the stairs, her hair whipping around her. "Ash! May! Can you hear me?" Roxanne called.

There was noise on the floor above her, and her heart lifted. Nearing the stairs, Roxanne looked up them, hoping to see someone, anyone, race down. As the seconds ticked on, there was a crash and two forms stumbled down, one after the other. "You both are fine!"

"As fine as we can be at least," Ash replied lightly, as the trio started quickly toward the other staircase. By then their path was becoming harder to get across, as they mostly tripped around from the shaking of the floor beneath their feet.

The ceiling caved in behind them, condemning anyone still in the upper floors to death. Ash gently pulled on May's arm, as she stopped to frown at the wreckage, looking sympathetic and worried. For the rest of the heavily rushed escape from the building, Ash, May, and Roxanne made good time, running as fast as they could as the ceilings and walls buckled around them.

"They are almost here!" some of Roxanne's students yelled, pointing out the trio racing at a fast trot through the unstable cave. The Gym Leader couldn't restrain a smile that came to her lips at the sight of them, safe and sound. As long as nothing happened to them, having become like family with them, she would be happy.

Of course, they were no unscathed; many sported cuts and bruises from either the battles they were in with the opposing teams, along with their flight through the cave. Rocks were becoming loose and falling, and pokemon fled at the uproar. "No!" the group yelled.

The roof caved in, leaving Ash, May, and Roxanne trapped in the dangerous tunnel. May pulled out the pokeball for one of her pokemon, in hopes that they could perhaps dig their way out before any more rock came down on them, when there was a roar. It shook the trio to the bone, the loud, angry sound almost alarming.

"What is that?" Ash asked, looking around uneasily. He could see more Magma and Aqua members skittering around, looking for exits and means of escape. The roar started up again, as the ground beneath their feet cracked open, and a large maw snapping from it, scooping them up. Groudon, the creature, slid back down, just as the cave fell in over him.

- - -

Outside, the students all watched in worry and fear as the few remaining loss rocks slid down to the ground. They knew that if something didn't save their mentor and friends, that they were surely lost to them. No one could have survived the avalanche of stone.

Their was a gentle vibration through the ground, as the Legendary pokemon came up through the earth, and literally spit out his passengers. They couldn't help but cheer for their allies; the fear was gone, and they were reunited again. Groudon looked apologetically at them, giving them a quick "I am sorry," in pokemon speech.

Roxanne gave him a shrug, not minding the clear liquid that was at that moment dripping off the end of her nose. Several of her charges giggled, getting a reprimanding glance in return. "It's fine. This is better then being crushed in there," May said, wiping off as much as the pokemon's saliva as she could, and watching her husband do so at the same time. Even if they didn't admit it, they both were mildly disgusted.

"Yes…thank you for saving us, even if it was in a way I would not of preferred if I had, had a choice in the matter." May gently pinched Ash in the side, the young man wincing. Groudon's tail twitched, and it borrowed down into the ground, back toward its underground home.

"Is everyone here? Everyone ok?" Roxanne asked, looking around at the group and counting them. All of them nodded, giving her smiles and grins in response. "Now, let's go patch up the scratches while…"

She motioned toward the couple, who was at that moment on the ground, locked in a tight embrace and fawning over each other. Quietly, her students look seats around the closed entrance to the cave, whispering to each other as packs were opened and first-aid kits were picked over for band-aids. Roxanne turned her attention fully on them, making it a point to be facing her class.

Ash peeked over at them, noting how most of the students were chancing their own glances past Roxanne. "Too curious…are you alright?"

May poked him once again in the side, settling back against him, her head on his shoulder. He scowled; he hated being poked and pinched. "I'm fine, it's just a bunch of bumps and bruises is all. I'll live. You're the one that is probably mentally scarred though." She frowned at him, rubbing her thumb along the blue and black bruise that was under his chin, and regretting not pulling her punch back before it had scored the hit. "Not only do you near get raped, you get fought over, and then get a new bruise from my punch…"

"It's nothing you can't fix," was the teasing reply, "in one way or another." The ending was said softly, as Ash eyed the group only feet away to make sure no one was listening. May tilted her head, biting her tongue, before getting an evil grin.

"Oh? Usually I'd take you up on that, but spit doesn't really do much for me," she said, wiping off the remaining saliva that was on clinging on his cheek. Ash rolled his eyes, shaking his head in amusement. "We really should be going though…we have the next town to get to, so I can get the next badge."

Nodding, Ash waved Roxanne over, giving her a smile. "It's been fun, but I do believe someone is getting impatient to get on with her training."

Roxanne laughed, crossing her arms. "So you just plan on leaving me? Fine by me, as long as you keep in touch!" she said, tapping the ground with her foot.

Ash got up, giving May a hand. "Of course. We wouldn't think not doing that," May replied, watching as some of the students walked over to stand behind their teacher.

"Good, because I'd have to track you down if you didn't, especially after this!" Moving out of the way, Roxanne gave the small group of students their turn to say their well wishes and good-byes.

It went smoothly until the youngest girl of the group, looking seriously at Ash and May, tilted her head up slightly with a smile. "I know I'll never see ya again, but I better be hearing from Roxanne about all of your children! Every single one, because I know you'll have a lot of them."

The class erupted in laughter, as Ash turned an interesting shade of red. May, trying to keep from giggling, took a hold of his hand. "It'll be a while before that happens," she admitted, saving Ash from having to comment and getting a relieved look from him for it, "but…um, right. We'll make sure she knows about it."

Their farewells out of the way – and everyone mostly calmed down – they started down the road that lead to their next town, and to the next milestone in the journey for the Hoenn Championship.

- - -

AN - Well…wow. I actually finished it, if you can believe it. It's been rough, with pushing at the odd times to work on it, and trying on the patience of some of you, but it's over. I tried to do the ending some justice, since it...well, it needs a decent ending. I'm unsure if I managed it, since I'm unhappy with some bits of it (like the beginning of the chapter. u.u; ) while overall it looks ok to me. That's for you to decide though.

There is an issue I would like to bring up. If anyone looked at my profile, did you notice the 29/100? Well, my readers, you can look forward to seeing some more fanfictions in the very near future thanks to that 100. Some will be pokemon, while others will be for Harry Potter, Lunar...you name it. I'll probably even have some Rhapsody ones, even if I don't care for it that much oo and perhaps some Gravitation ones, The Last Herald-Mage…the Forgotten Realms with Drizzt and Entreri…ahem. A lot of them will be short stories, which will be a relief compared to these chaptered ones. Not a worry though, I'm working on the sequel for League Team and a story for the Trainer's Heart series (been a while since I've worked on that one!). Not to mention a few rewrites, including Shadow League (which will be a large improvement from its first version.)

Anyway, I will stop now before I babble on about my future plans, and say ja ne!


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